Man Enough (Rocketshipping Fanfiction)
by mydesiredusername
Summary: James overhears Jessie calling him a whiny, unmanly homosexual. Will he cower away and feel sorry for himself, or rise to the challenge of proving to Jessie just how much of a man he can really be? ((James x Jessie, James x Jesse, Kojiro x Musashi, Team Rocket, Rocketshippy, Rocketshipping, lemon, rated T except chaps 5, 6, 10, and 13 [rated M.]) CHAPTER 13 IS UP!
1. EAVESDROPPING

_AN: Set in late season 1/early season 2. Rocketshippy. Rated T for now but will turn to M for future chapters. Please enjoy, and review!_

 **CHAPTER ONE: EAVESDROPPING**

It all started off with a little eavesdropping.

And James didn't even like to call it 'eavesdropping' exactly, because it wasn't his intention to _spy_ on Jessie and Meowth, or anything of that sordid sort. Initially, it had been a complete accident that he overheard their conversation that fateful summer evening.

Team Rocket had just finished blasting off again. This time, after being foiled by those pesky twerps yet again, the threesome had descended from their glistening star in the sky to land in a desolate forest. For an hour, they searched the area for unsuspecting people to trick and unsuspecting Pokemon to steal, but they found no trace of human or animal.

"Jessie, I'm tired and my entire body is aching," James complained after the failure of their day had set in once again. He collapsed against the nearest tree trunk he could find.

"Stop your whining, James! It's only five o'clock! We have to keep scanning this forest until we find something that's definitely not ours and definitely _should_ be!"

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which somehow always managed to avoid becoming unkempt. "I know, I know, but…all this running around! Hopelessly trying and eternally failing to catch Pikachu. Failing to catch _any_ new Pokemon at all. It's thoroughly exhausting! Can't we just take a break? For a little while?"

Jessie stood still, her hands settled on the bends in her waist. She stared at James with a raised eyebrow and an icy look in her eyes until she finally uttered a word: "Fine."

"Fine? Really, Jessie?"

" _You_ can stay here and take a nap if you want to! But _I'm_ going to hunt for more Pokemon. Meowth, are you coming or not?"

Meowth looked up from a pile of leaves he had been batting at. "Eh? What's goin' on?"

"James is going to stay here and rest his delicate, weakened body," Jessie explained, and the sarcasm dripping from her voice was obvious even to James and Meowth. " _I'm_ going to continue looking for Pokemon to steal. Whose side are you on?"

Meowth looked from James to Jessie and back again. He wanted to stay and rest up with the man, but the woman was looking far too intimidating at this point for him to betray. "I'll, uh, go with you, Jessie! Yeah! Let's go get some Pokemon for the boss!"

With that, Jessie and Meowth headed off into the deeper and darker part of the forest. James huffed at Jessie's attitude but after a few minutes, he had fallen into a deep, happy, and much-needed sleep. In fact, he slept for more hours than he could ever remember sleeping for since joining Team Rocket.

He dreamed of catching Pikachu and delivering it to Giovanni and hearing Giovanni sing his praises (literally, in a bizarrely operatic voice) and of getting insanely rich and bathing in golden coins and of Jessie kissing him…and of Jessie breathing hotly down his neck…and sliding her long soft fingers up his stomach to his chest…and pressing her body roughly against his until there was no space between them-

Wait, what? James jolted awake just seconds after the image of his team member's seduction had imprinted itself on his mind. He blinked his eyes rapidly, his cheeks burning. What was _that_? He had never had a dream like that about Jessie before.

Or about anyone. He had never been much of a sexual person. While he was going through puberty, he was more focused on figuring out a way to escape his controlling family and had little time to worry about dating. After he managed to escape them, all his thoughts and time were consumed by coming up with (and failing to properly execute) nefarious schemes for Team Rocket.

At twenty years old, he figured that his sexuality would have emerged on its own by now, and if it didn't, perhaps he was simply not meant to be with anyone in that special way. He didn't care. 'Why be tied down by someone that will inevitably try to control me?' he thought.

But such lifelong apathy toward romance and sex only made this dream that much more unsettling to him. Jessie? Kissing him? Touching him? Why would his brain have concocted such a bizarre scenario?

And why did his pants feel so insufferably tight all of a sudden?

"Well, dat was a big waste a' time." Meowth's voice. James could hear it coming near. Not ready to face Jessie so soon after dreaming about her and without having any time to figure out what it meant, he quickly closed his eyes again and pretended to be fast asleep.

"Yes," Jessie agreed with a sigh. "I suppose James was right for once."

"Yeah, I guess so. Where is he anyway?"

James closed his eyes tighter and faked a snore. "Oh, there he is. Still sleeping like a baby." Jessie's voice sounded closer now. In fact, she was only a few feet away from where James lay, and after spotting her still-resting teammate, she began setting up camp for herself and Meowth.

Their trusty tent went up in minutes. Jessie eased into her sleeping bag and shut her eyes. Outside, James began to relax a bit, under the impression that he wouldn't have to face either of his teammates until morning.

But then Meowth's voice roused both Jessie and James before either could get comfortable. "Wait, Jessie, why are _these_ here?"

James's ears perked up and he glanced into the tent but couldn't make out what Meowth was holding. Jessie opened her eyes crabbily; she was more than ready to sleep now. "What now, Meowth? I'm tired!"

"These! Condoms!"

"Huh?!"

"Oh, I get it," Meowth said with a sly grin. "You and Jimmy boy have finally been gettin' more-than-friendly, eh?"

James's eyes widened further. Finally? More-than-friendly? Jessie scoffed and swiped the condoms from the Pokemon. "What on earth are you talking about, Meowth?! These are balloons! They're for the water attack we planned for Monday!"

"Eh, sorry, Jessie, but those ain't balloons. Those are condoms."

"They are not! Do you think I would buy condoms for no reason?"

"Not for no reason, nah. But because you and Jimmy-"

Jessie threw the box of condoms at Meowth's head. "If you say that one more time about me and James, I swear you'll wish you were unable to talk! First of all, these are balloons, and second of all, if I were to ever buy condoms, they would _not_ be for James."

As he heard this, James furrowed his brows and quietly stood up from the tree. He inched closer to the tent and crouched down just outside it, listening carefully to every word.

"Ow! Sorry, I didn't know ya was so disgusted by Jimmy! I thought ya liked him!"

"I'm not _disgusted_ by him, and I do like him. He's a loyal friend, and although he's an idiot that screws up more plans than he helps, I'm glad he's my Team Rocket partner," Jessie said. A small smile crossed James's face. "But I would _never_ sleep with him." The smile vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Not your type, eh?" Meowth asked, rubbing the spot on his head where the box had hit.

"Definitely not! He's whiny and dramatic and a giant pushover! He cries more than I do!" Jessie explained. "To put it simply, he's not man enough for me. And, if my assumptions are correct, I'm not man enough for him either."

James's heart fell into his stomach. Hearing these words, he had never felt so humiliated, so ashamed. Meowth, on the other hand, responded with a laugh. "Oh, ya think Jimmy bats for da other team. Yeah, that does make a lotta sense, come to think a' it."

Jessie giggled. "I'm quite sure of it. Which is fine, but I am very much a woman, in case you didn't notice! Oh, yes, I'm far tougher than most women, but when it comes to love, I'm just like any other girl. I need a man to totally dominate me…mind and body. James would never be able to."

"Okay, okay, that's a little too much info now, Jess!" Meowth covered his ears, red in the face.

A blush and a scowl. "Well, you're the one that brought all this up with your stupid accusation that I bought condoms!"

"It wasn't stupid! These _are_ condoms! And it's kinda sad that a Pokemon knows more about this than a human do!"

Jessie huffed and lay back down in her sleeping bag, blushing lightly. "Whatever, Meowth. We'll use them as balloons, no matter what they may actually be intended for. Now go to sleep!"

After that, the tent fell to silence. James remained crouched outside and all he could hear was his heart drumming against his rib cage. Jessie's words circled around and around in his mind. Whiny. Dramatic. Pushover. Not man enough.

Not man enough.

He felt like his best friend had stabbed him with a sharp knife, repeatedly and mercilessly. With pain this intense, he was almost surprised that he wasn't bleeding out of his stomach, or heart.

He knew that she hadn't intentionally hurt him; she certainly didn't know he was listening in. However, that made it ten times worse. For to know that Jessie honestly viewed him this way, that this was her truth, the things she could only say when his feelings were of no consideration…it was almost unbearable.

Any self-esteem he possessed had been stripped away from him in less than five minutes, but he remained frozen outside the tent for far longer than that. He was in so much pain that he couldn't move.

It was only an hour later, when tears stung his eyes, that he finally rose from his spot. He couldn't let her, by any chance, hear him crying. He now knew she hated when he cried.

With sudden panic that she may wake up any second, he sprinted aimlessly into the forest, not knowing what awaited him in the darkness beyond.

 **TO BE CONTINED**

 _REVIEWS WOULD MAKE ME SMILE_


	2. REVELATIONS

_AN: A huge thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story so far! I greatly appreciate every bit of it. Please continue to review, and please continue to enjoy! I love you all!_

CHAPTER TWO: REVELATIONS

Not long after escaping into the forest, James came across a babbling brook weaving its way through the land, as long and curvy as an Arbok. He took pause there, deciding to wash his face clean of the salty tear tracks that now stained it.

Despite the cooling temperature outside, the cold water felt nothing but soothing; it was the only thing so far that seemed to make him feel better at all. Soon he found himself taking his clothes off and trying to wash his entire body clean of the shame and the self-loathing he felt. He knew it was strange to bathe in a river in the middle of the night, but he couldn't care less. If Jessie felt the way she did, nothing really mattered anymore anyway.

"But why?" he asked himself out loud as he began to calm down, the soothing water slowing his heartbeat. "Why do I care so much about what Jessie thinks of me? Why does this hurt so…so deeply?"

He began to actually think about it. Surely, it would hurt any man's ego to be called whiny, dramatic, and a pushover. To be assumed to be gay and submissive. Perhaps it had nothing to do with Jessie! Maybe it was just his pride that was injured.

After all, he had an odd relationship with his self-confidence. On one hand, he considered himself to be handsome, a brilliant criminal (though most would say differently), and of course a fabulous dresser. On the other hand, as Jessie's words continued to haunt his mind, every insecurity and doubt he ever had about himself rose to the surface.

Although he tried to embrace and sometimes even flaunt it, deep down, he had always been self-conscious about his effeminate nature. Even the other posh rich kids he went to school with as a child teased him about his girly mannerisms and flamboyant personality. When he heard Jessie say she was quite sure he was gay, it was far from the first time someone had made that assumption.

He had wondered about it himself, but again, he had never given much thought to dating or experimenting with sex. Once in a while, just because people called him gay so very often, he had contemplated whether they were teasing for him for the right reason or not. He forced himself to fantasize about having sex with men; sometimes, if he thought about it long enough, he would be able to arouse himself, but it didn't happen as easily or naturally as he figured it should if he were truly gay.

But the doubt remained inside him. Although he wasn't particularly drawn to boys, he wasn't drawn to girls the way the other boys were either. As a teenager, he would often hear his peers talking about wanting to "fuck the tight pussy" of one girl or "cum so hard in the mouth" of another. Whenever he heard this kind of talk, he would squeal and blush and make himself scarce. He could never bring himself to speak about girls that way, or even think about them that way.

The dream he had about Jessie that very evening was truly the first of its kind, only to be directly followed by hearing the woman say that the contents of the dream would _never_ happen.

He didn't know why he suddenly had that dream though. After years of knowing Jessie and all these months of working so closely alongside her, why now? What did it mean?

As he soaked his lavender hair in the cool water, he realized that although he had never thought of her sexually before, he _had_ been noticing Jessie more in the last month. Just little things about her. How relaxed and almost innocent she looked with her hair down. How she wore red lipstick on the weekdays but pink on the weekends. How eloquently she spoke despite her meager upbringing.

Thinking even harder, he was able to trace _this_ change back to the day that they visited the hospital and met Dr. Proctor. Jessie had been immediately taken with him, and James felt an icky sensation in his gut that he had never felt before. At the time, he passed it off quickly because he couldn't identify it, and there were more pressing matters at hand. But it was jealousy, all right. Which he was only beginning to discover now.

He decided to picture himself as Dr. Proctor. What he would have felt if Jessie had been draping herself all over _him_ , looking at _him_ with sparkly lovestruck eyes.

Unlike when he used to fantasize about men, this time, it didn't take long at all before he became aroused. He instinctively reached down to stroke himself slowly, allowing his brain to be flooded with seductive images of his best friend.

He thought about how incredibly short her Team Rocket uniform's skirt was, and how the top of the uniform generously put on display the bare skin of her flat stomach and womanly curves. He thought about the times that they had become physically close before, all the times they had embraced each other, all the times they had slept atop each other…

He wondered how he could not have been turned on by all this until now. But now that he was, he could tell there would be no going back.

What he _couldn't_ tell was that Jessie was watching him pleasure himself as she stood behind a tree about a yard away.

She had been asleep in the tent for a while before a thought crept into her mind: "What if James freezes out there?"

Jessie was not, never had been, and never would be a considerate and thoughtful type of person. There were people out there that constantly thought of others' well-being and were naturally in-tune with the needs of their fellow humans. People that would go out of their way to make someone else feel comfortable. People that would feel guilty over taking the last piece of pizza even if their companion had three slices more than they did.

Of course, Jessie was on the opposite end of the spectrum. It rarely occurred to her to worry about other people. If she could fend for herself, why couldn't everyone else? The only exception was James. Though she didn't like to admit it out loud, she cared for the man. She felt protective of him, like a big sister.

So, although she initially left James to sleep out in the cold without a second thought, at a certain point in the night, she awoke with the realization that he might need a blanket out there. Better late than never. "Meowth!"

Her voice was loud enough to wake Meowth immediately from his pleasant dream about a purple yarn ball the height of the Empire State Building. "E-eh? What? Where's da fire?"

"Go outside and give James a blanket," she ordered, too snug in her sleeping bag to want to move even an inch. "He might be cold."

"What? Ya woke me from a dream dat good for _dat_? Do it ya-self!"

"I don't want to! I'm comfy and warm already!"

"I am too, ya know! I ain't goin' out inta da cold. If ya wanna give Jimmy a blankie so bad, do it ya-self," Meowth said with a tone of finality in his voice that even Jessie was too tired to continue arguing with.

"Fine! Some teammate _you_ are." With a pouty growl, Jessie stormed out of her sleeping bag, grabbing a thick blanket on her way out of the tent. Her quick-stepped journey was cut short, however, when she instantly noticed that James was missing from the tree he had been sleeping against.

"James?!" A reply of eerie silence from the dark forest surrounding her. Her heart raced. Had someone kidnapped him? Had a dangerous Pokemon done something to him? Where the hell _was_ he? "James?!"

Without bothering to drag Meowth along, Jessie sped into the forest, looking left and right for her teammate. The forest was too quiet. Far too quiet. Not even the chirp of crickets could be heard. Only her footsteps…and eventually the melodious babbling of a brook…and a deep-voiced moan?

Not knowing who the moan belonged to, Jessie quickly hid behind a tree and prepared for battle. She hadn't brought any weapons along with her, however. Not even her Pokemon.

Luckily for her, she didn't need them. As soon as she peeked her head out from the tree trunk, she saw her old friend. And she saw him in a way she never imagined she would.

Completely naked, his surprisingly toned muscles glistening with river water, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he let out more urgent moans. Craning her neck further, she saw exactly why he was moaning, though she could already venture a guess.

Her heart, already having been racing from before, pounded even harder as she got a good view of James's full body. 'He's so _big_ ,' she couldn't help but think. 'How can a man that girly be that _big_? It hardly seems fair!'

She knew she shouldn't continue watching. She knew this was the very definition of a private moment. But she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from the surreal scene. It all seemed so strange to her, the fact that James…her immature, histrionic, silly James…her James who sometimes looked better in a dress than she did…would even have the needs of an average man.

And the body of an average man. No, a bit _above_ average, she decided. The longer she stared, the hotter her own body became until she felt an uncomfortable burning sensation in her chest and an even more uncomfortable warm wetness between her thighs.

'Dear God, _James_ is making me wet?! No! I cannot let this go on any longer!' Jessie told herself as soon as she became conscious of the revolting reactions her body was having beyond her control and entirely against her will.

Bolting from the scene, she did everything she could to erase the images from her mind. The most effective strategy was turning her unexpected attraction into a more familiar emotion: anger.

'Running off in the middle of the night to do _that_! Making me worry about him, making me leave my cozy sleeping bag, making me wander around this dangerous forest, for _that_! Disgusting pig!'

These thoughts helped calm her down by the time she got back to the tent. She was only able to fall asleep as long as a series of similar thoughts danced through her head. However, even so, her body remained scorching hot for the entire rest of the night, and she found that worrying about James's need for a blanket ironically resulted in her lack of need for even the cover of her sleeping bag to keep her warm.

Meanwhile, James climaxed hard into his hand and caught his breath, his body buzzing with satisfaction. A content smile settled onto his face as his heart rate began to slow again.

That felt…nice. He hadn't done that in a long time; in fact, ever since joining Team Rocket. He was always too busy and in too close of quarters with Jessie and Meowth. Of course, most men would balk at the idea of neither having had sex nor masturbated in months, but James hadn't even noticed the lack of activity in his life until now.

"Mm…Jessie…" he sighed happily to himself, before remembering that Jessie was the very reason he was out here. Jessie, who had called him all those terrible words. Jessie, who said she would _never_ sleep with him.

And just like that, his peace had been shattered again. Self-pity, humiliation, and insecurity flooded right back into his otherwise orgasm-clouded brain. It was even worse now that he knew for sure that he _did_ want Jessie that way.

'But wait a minute,' he suddenly thought. 'Who is _she_ to say that it will never happen? Who is _she_ to say I'm not man enough? Why does _she_ always get the last word on everything?'

As he continued thinking about it, his sadness finally transformed into an intense anger he had never felt toward her before. 'Who is _she_ to make me feel this way?!'

Furiously, James grabbed his clothes from the rock he had thrown them upon, getting dressed and heading back to the tent with a new blazing fire lit inside his soul.

'Never mind. I _know_ who she is. She's a woman that wants a man who can completely dominate her, mind and body,' he thought. 'And that's exactly what she'll get.'

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS MAKE MY HEART GLOW_


	3. TRANSFORMATION

_AN: Thank you again to each and every one that reviewed, followed, or favorited this story! Please continue to tell me your thoughts, what you liked, what you disliked, what you think may happen next; I want to hear it all! And most importantly, please enjoy chapter 3!_

 **CHAPTER THREE: TRANSFORMATION**

The next morning, James was the first one up. In fact, he never actually went to sleep. As soon as the sun began to rise, James reached down and shook Jessie's shoulder, hard. "Wake up, Jessie! Wake up! We have to get moving!"

Jessie groaned softly, her brain fuzzy as she slowly opened her eyes to see James's face above her. "W-what? James…?"

"Get up, we have to get going," he demanded again, moving to the left corner of the tent to shake Meowth awake next. The cat Pokemon yelped as he woke up. "E-eh? Where's da fire?"

Jessie sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What? Get going where? What on earth are you going on about?"

"We've already wasted far too much time in this futile forest," James continued. "And I have a new plan for us. The Summer Festival of Lights should be happening tonight in Saffron City…"

"Saffron City?" Jessie interjected with a furrowed eyebrow, at last feeling fully awake. "That's at least thirty miles from here!"

"That's why we have to get going _now_! The winds are weak today, but even if they're only blowing at five miles an hour, we can make it to the festival if we get in the balloon _now_."

Jessie and Meowth stood up in unison, staring at James as if he were from another planet. Meowth spoke up: "And why would we wanna spend five hours in our hot air balloon just ta go ta some stupid fest a' lights?!"

James began rolling up the sleeping bags. "Have you never been to the Festival of Lights? It is one of the biggest and most spectacular summer events in the Kanto region!"

Jessie crossed her arms over her torso defiantly. "So you want us to waste our entire day in the air simply so you can gawk at a bunch of lights? I think you've lost what little mind you still had left, James."

Pausing, James stood back at full height and stared at Jessie with a sternness she had rarely ever seen in his face. "The festival will be teeming with people from all parts of the region, and do you know who many of those people will be, Jessie? Pokemon trainers. And do you know what Pokemon trainers tend to have with them at all times? Pokemon. I assure you, I will not be gawking at the lights. I will be turning them all off."

Jessie took a step back, frowning. She wasn't sure she liked the way James was talking to her right about now, but she had to admit that she was intrigued by what he said. "Turning them all off?"

"Yes. When we arrive at the festival, we'll each have a different role to fulfill. Rather than attacking as a trio, we'll spread out," James began to explain, as if reading from a written plan inside his head. "I'll cut the wires of each light display, and when everything is blacked out, Jessie, _you_ , while in the balloon, will extend a net to capture as many Pokemon as possible while their masters are running around, scared and confused."

He then turned to Meowth. "Although I can't say for certain if those twerps will be attending the fest, there's a fantastic possibility that they will be. They clearly love big events where they can meet other trainers and show off their skills, or rather their dumb luck. If they're there, Meowth, _you_ will locate and keep an eye on Pikachu the entire time. When the lights go out, you'll grab him from behind and run as fast and as far as you can with him. Jessie and I will make our getaway in the balloon and will meet you at a predesignated location. That way, if those annoying twerps try to stop us like they always do, they won't be able to foil both plans at once. They may choose to try to rescue all the Pokemon Jessie and I have stolen, but you will still have run off with Pikachu. On the other hand, if they go after you instead to get Pikachu back, Jessie and I will still be long gone with the other Pokemon."

Meowth and Jessie blinked as they continued staring at James, but now they shared a look of surprised admiration rather than haughty skepticism. James had never come up with a scheme all on his own before. And it actually seemed to make sense. Neither Meowth nor Jessie knew what to make of this sudden change in character, but Meowth spoke up first, smiling: "Ya know, that don't sound like da stupidest idea ya ever had, Jimmy!"

James smirked, putting his hands on his hips proudly. "Far from it, Meowth. This plan is going to work, I guarantee it."

"Guarantee? Well, let's not go dat far," Meowth said. "Let's jus' go as far as thirty miles and see what happens. I'll go put da sleeping bags in da balloon!"

With that, an eager Meowth seized the sleeping bags from the ground and hurried outside of the tent. James watched him go and then began gathering all the blankets from the ground. As he did, he turned to Jessie, who had been far too quiet this entire time. "Well? Jessie? Don't just stand there. Do something to help move things along."

Jessie's frown deepened. "Is that an _order_ , James?!"

"Did I stutter?'

The woman's blue eyes widened and her jaw dropped. What the hell had gotten into James?! Was she still dreaming? No, wait, she wouldn't dream about James. No, of course not. This was reality. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. What had changed since she had lasted seen James?

Since she had last seen James…suddenly, she remembered when exactly she had last seen James, and seen far too much of him. Her cheeks filled with heat all over again as she thought about it. But why would spending a little quality time with himself cause a personality change like this? It didn't make any sense.

"Jessie, are you in la-la land?" James asked, waving a gloved hand in front of her blushing face. "We're going to leave in ten minutes, tops! So get all your stuff together and put it in the balloon."

She snapped out of her thoughts and scowled. "Don't tell me what to do! If I want to get my stuff in the balloon, I'll do it because _I_ want to! And I'll do it at my own pace!"

To Jessie's surprise, James merely shrugged. "Well, we're leaving in ten minutes, with or without your stuff, so unless you want your makeup to become dinner someday for hungry Pokemon traveling through the forest, I suggest you start packing."

Blankets over his shoulder, James exited the tent, leaving Jessie frozen in place. As soon as he was out of the woman's sight, James let out a sigh. It was challenging for him, behaving like this. Every fiber of his being was protesting the words that came out of his mouth and the commanding, sardonic tone of voice that gave them shape.

But it was going to work and be worth it, he was sure. Once she got over the shock of his change in persona, she would realize just how much she liked it. She _had_ to.

Ten minutes later, the balloon was ready for takeoff, and James couldn't help but grin smugly when he saw that all of Jessie's stuff was packed and ready to go several minutes prior. Into the sky the trio ascended, and what a lovely sky it was. Wide strands of pink and peach extended as far as the eye could see, along with a tiny red drop of sun emerging into view.

Meowth curled up in a ball in the corner, hoping he could revive his dream about the gigantic yarn ball during this long trip in the air. Meanwhile, Jessie gazed out at the view, trying to allow its beauty and the soft breeze in the air to soothe her jangled feelings.

Soon enough though, James took a break from steering the balloon and crept up behind his teammate. He pressed his chest lightly against her back and spoke softly into her ear: "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

Jessie's body stiffened in surprise. "U-uh…yes, it is…"

"Are you stammering, Jess? I don't think I've ever heard you stammer."

"W-what? No! Why would I be stammering?"

"I don't know," James replied, pressing his body closer against hers from behind. "You seem nervous."

Trying to ignore how dangerously close his crotch had gotten to her ass, and how much her heart was pummeling because of it, she scowled. "Nervous? About what? Well, maybe about how this stupid plan of yours will go down. After all, you forced us to take off before I could gather my thoughts about whether this is even a good idea or not."

"It's going to work, trust me."

"Why should I trust you? None of our plans have ever worked in the past," she said. "In case you have forgotten, we don't exactly have a stellar track record."

"Like you said, those were all of _our_ plans, Jessie," James countered. "This one is mine and mine alone, and it's going to work."

Jessie furiously turned her head to look at her friend's face. "What's that supposed to mean? That _I'm_ the one that makes all of our schemes fail?!"

"Well, if the shoe fits."

Jessie swallowed a lump in her throat. She absolutely hated that she could feel her eyes burn with the threat of tears. Wriggling free from the precarious position she was in with James, she stormed off to join Meowth in the corner. While the cat slept, the woman sulked. James could tell at this point that it was going to be a long and silent trip.

But he reminded himself once again that it would all be worth it in the end. After all, this _was_ what Jessie wanted, wasn't it? She said it herself. 'Yes, I'm far tougher than most women, but when it comes to love, I'm just like any other girl. I need a man to totally dominate me…mind and body. James would never be able to.'

Those were her words, he knew them by heart, and they had circled his mind dozens of times by now. This was what she wanted. If it took hurting her feelings and taking her ego down a notch to get it, then that's what he would do.

Hours passed, and evening had fallen. As he predicted, the flight had been filled with tension, and he was more than pleased when he spied one of the dazzling light displays about a mile away. "Look! Look there! It's a gigantic light display of a Rhyhorn! We're getting close now!" he squealed, giggling.

Jessie felt a wave of relief wash over her body when she heard that old familiar childish excitement return to his voice. That was the James she knew; where had he been all day? She was still far from over their squabble earlier, but she decided to push it aside for now as they prepared to put his plan in action.

"It's sensational, James," Jessie agreed, permitting a small smile to cross her face. The closer they got, the more breathtaking displays came into view, and eventually they could see swarms of people and their Pokemon freely enjoying the displays without a care in the world. Though not for long. "And look! It's those twerps!"

"Is it?"

Meowth finally awoke and perked up while James scanned the crowd below. Sure enough, they spotted Ash, Misty, Brock, and every single one of their Pokemon strolling along, no longer in their Pokeballs but instead enjoying the festivities. James smirked. "What did I tell you? They're here, and they certainly don't look prepared for trouble!"

Meowth grinned. "Ya know, I really hope dis works dis time."

James then glanced over at Jessie as she gazed at the light displays. Her eyes were sparkling, her captivating smile had returned. She was flawlessly beautiful, and he wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything. Money, fame, Pikachu. None of those things had caused him _this_ intense ache, this horrible longing, this fire in his soul.

If only he could prove himself to her, if only he could make her ache for him too.

"It _will_ work," James whispered. "Because it _has_ to."

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 _REVIEWS ARE LIKE WARM CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES TO ME_


	4. SUCCESS

_AN: I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter! The holidays have kept me busy, but I finally got around to writing, and I wrote an extra long chapter to make up for the wait. I hope you all enjoy it! Please continue to review! xoxo_

CHAPTER FOUR: SUCCESSS

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie shouted as the balloon got ever close to the festival, but James immediately covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shhh! No motto this time!"

"Bgjsadsflsk!" Jessie mumbled in protestation, trying and failing to pry her teammate's hand off her lips.

Seconds later though, he uncovered her mouth at his own choosing, and she didn't waste a second to catch her breath before yelling: "What was _that_ for, James?!"

"Like I said, no motto this time! We always give ourselves away! Tonight, we have to be as smart as we can possibly be!"

Meowth chuckled. "Which still ain't gonna be all dat smart, but I gotta agree with Jimmy. Dat stupid motto don't help us at all, Jess."

Jessie continued staring at James, anger flooding her veins. "But we _always_ say the motto! It's tradition!"

"I said 'no'! Now stop arguing about it!" Before Jessie could utter another word, James bent down to Meowth's level and pointed to a shady sect of trees about half mile away from the light displays. "Okay, Meowth, you see that splendidly tall pine tree, right there in the middle?"

"Uh, yeah, it's pretty hard ta miss."

"Well, when you capture Pikachu, that's where you'll run to. Climb up the tree and hide as high in the branches as you can; wait there quietly until Jessie and I arrive."

Meowth nodded before furrowing a concerned brow. "But what if da twerps are afta me?"

"You'll just have to be faster than them, Meowth! You'll have to be faster than you have ever been in your nine lives!"

Still sore over James refusing to recite the motto with her, Jessie had to force a smirk that would have otherwise come naturally. "Well, you _have_ been sleeping this entire ride over, Meowth. You _should_ have plenty of energy stored up for an Olympic-quality performance, shouldn't you?"

The cat looked skeptical but then nodded in a promise to do his best. The pressure was on. There was definitely a more intense tone about this whole scheme, and Meowth didn't want to be the one to make it crumble.

Secretly, Jessie was nervous about her role in the plan as well. James just seemed to be taking this plan _so_ seriously. Neither the cat nor the woman were sure why, but they both suspected that James would be uncharacteristically wrathful if they screwed up like they usually did.

"James, what are you doing?" Jessie questioned, being snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed that the lavender-haired man had started rummaging through their suitcases.

"I just remembered that I need a disguise for when I'm down there," James explained. "I need to blend in with all the other regular folks!" He came across a pink cotton dress that was certainly plain and ordinary enough, but there was no way in hell he would be cross-dressing this time.

Instead, he changed into a green button-down, black tie, and jeans. Jessie had to fight against every bewildering and demented part of her that screamed 'turn around and watch'. At one point, she turned her head just slightly and was able to catch a flashing glimpse of the toned body she had seen fully the night before, but she quickly refocused her eyes on the festival. Of course, it was far more difficult to keep her eyes on the people below than she would ever admit.

She also refused to admit how handsome her teammate looked when he was finished changing and she was given permission to look. "You're a bit overdressed for a summer night," she huffed in place of the compliment that threatened to make its way out of her mouth.

"I look incredibly dapper, and you know it," he said, smirking smugly.

Jessie frowned yet again. James's new attitude was really starting to bother her. She wasn't sure if she found it repulsive or attractive, which only made her angrier by the second. Damn it; why was everything suddenly so confusing?

Before she could reply, James tied one end of a thick rope around his waist and handed the rest to Jessie. "Here, let me and Meowth down right here, and we'll sneak into the festival. Be ready to capture as many Pokemon as possible with the net as soon as all the lights are out."

Jessie nodded seriously and, after James picked up Meowth and wrapped his arms around the cat's waist in a way Jessie (for only a second) was envious of, the woman let her teammates carefully descend from the balloon and onto the festival grounds.

The place was positively _teeming_ with innocent trainers and their Pokemon (many of which were excitingly rare), and both James and Meowth felt a surge of licentious enthusiasm as they took in the sights.

"Oh, Meowth, if we can pull off this heist, we'll be at least a hundred Pokemon richer!"

"Yeahs, and at least a million dollars richer once we give 'em all to da boss! Or at least most 'a dem. I wouldn't mind keeping dat fine-lookin' Meowth over dere all ta myself…" the cat Pokemon trailed off as he paused a moment to gaze with heart-shaped eyes at a long-lashed Meowth licking her paws and nuzzling her owner's shin.

"Meowth, this is no time to get lovestruck!" James insisted, though he felt a bit hypocritical saying so, seeing as this entire plan was devised to win Jessie's respect, or more importantly, her lust.

"I knows, I knows, but…"

"No buts! Look, I see three Charizard already…five Onix…a swarm of Venusaur…oh! Over there! There's Pikachu and the prepubescent brats!" James exclaimed as he spotted the three friends and their Pokemon stopping in front of a light display of a Jigglypuff, decked out in flashing pink bulbs.

Meowth grinned. The sight of the electric mouse refocused his energy where it belonged. "Right! I'll trail Pikachu until da lights go out, and then I'll sink my claws inta him and run off before he knows what hit 'em!"

"No, no, no! After you sink your claws into him, you'll capture him in _this._ " James presented to Meowth a large glass jar.

"Oh, yeah, so he can't shock me while I run off!"

"Precisely! Now go follow them before we lose them!" the man ordered. The feline saluted him and scurried off, keeping a close watch on his target as Ash and his friends moved on to ooh-and-aah at another light display.

Meanwhile, James sneaked off to find the outlets for all the displays. As he looked here and there and everywhere, he must have come across as suspicious, because an Officer Jenny soon approached him with a concerned look on her face. "Excuse me, sir, can I help you find something or someone?"

James froze in his place, repressing a squeal, his eyes settling on the tall woman in front of him. "Um…" Time to think fast. Which had never been one of his strengths, but damn if he wasn't going to call upon whatever brain power he had to come up with a good excuse. "Well…I'm one of the electricians contracted to work this event, and there are a few bulbs out on the Bulbasaur display, quite ironic, really! Anyway, I'm going to take a look and see if they may have become unplugged accidentally, but I am having a hard time finding my way back to the, uh…the area where all the outlets are."

Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow. This man seemed both witty and yet stupid all at once, and it raised her suspicions further. Still, he hadn't done anything wrong, and she believed in the principle 'innocent until proven guilty', so she decided to help him. "You just walk down those steps right over there. You see, where all the plugs lead down into?" she instructed, pointing to the collection of thick overlapping plugs descending down a staircase into a dark pit. "That's where all the outlets are."

James blushed lightly. Now that she pointed it out, it was clear as day that that's where all the plugs were, and now he had made a fool of himself once again. At least Jessie wasn't around to see it this time. "Ah, well, that certainly makes sense!" James attempted, smiling and running a hand through his hair nervously. "Thank you, Officer. I suppose I'll be on my way to fix that display now!"

With that, he ran off to the stairs without waiting for a goodbye from the woman. Quickly he descended the steps, almost tripping on the snake-like plugs several times before he finally made it all the way down into the pit. His hand desperately sought out a light switch on the wall, but after finding it and flipping it on, he was less than ecstatic about what it illuminated.

The opposite wall was covered from top to bottom and from left to right with outlets. There must have been at least fifty different plugs to cut; James started to wonder if he should have had Jessie tag along to help him.

'But no! You have to show her that you don't need her help, and that you can do the hardest part of the work all on your own, like a real man!' he told himself, and that thought alone motivated him to begin quickly and vigorously cutting each plug with a pair of sharp shears he had recklessly stored in his jean pocket.

By the time he had cut the first half, he could hear some commotion from above. Confused, worried chatter. A child or two crying. Officer Jenny would probably be down any second to bust him. Hurriedly, he snapped the remaining the plugs with shaky hands and jolted up the stairs as fast as his legs could take him.

He hoped that by the time he made it up the staircase, he would see the fruits of his labor paying off. He hoped that Meowth had already made off with Pikachu, and that Jessie had extended their net and captured at least a dozen Pokemon.

But instead, he was stopped dead in his tracks when he made it up to the outside world and a very different set of images flooded his vision.

Meowth had indeed captured Pikachu in the glass jar, but the jar had become an effective lightbulb: inside it, Pikachu's non-stop thunderbolts illuminated the festival just enough so that everyone could see that it was the cat Pokemon trying to steal Pikachu and that it was Jessie in the balloon above, casting down a net onto the Pokemon below.

"Pikachu's…thunderbolts…" James whispered to himself in disbelief. It was so obvious. Of course Pikachu would be able to light up the festival! How could he not of have thought of it? How could be so incredibly moronic?

Of course, neither Jessie nor Meowth had considered this flaw in the plan either. But that didn't matter. It was _his_ plan. _He_ was the one that had stayed up all damn night thinking it up, the one that swore up and down that it would work, the one whose very masculinity depended on its success.

And now it was already going down in flames. He remained frozen in place as he watched it all happen. The typical battle, the kind he had been part of too many times to count: Arbok and Weezing trying and failing to fight off Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Onix, Staryu, and eventually Pikachu itself when Ash inevitably managed to get his favorite Pokemon back by using Bulbasaur to twist its vine whips around Meowth's waist and blast him off into thin air.

Jessie was then left alone to battle the twerps, and James knew that a real man would rush to help her. But he didn't. He couldn't. The futility of it all. The disappointment. The knowledge that he screwed up yet again, and that Jessie knew it and had to try to clean up his mess. It was all too much for him; he couldn't even bring himself to move.

He failed her _again_ and was failing her still.

Maybe she was right about him after all.

He may have ended up frozen in that spot for the rest of his life if it hadn't been for Jessie calling out his name once she finally spotted him in the crowd. "James! What are you doing, just standing there?! Meowth is gone! I need your help!" Her voice was throaty with rage, but there was also a trembling hint of desperation, of fear.

Finally snapping out of his trance, James headed toward the balloon. He still had no idea what he could do to make things better, however. His self-esteem was at an all-time low.

Luckily for him, he didn't get the chance to do much at all.

Jessie captured him in the net that had utterly failed to do the same to a single Pokemon, even though there had been hoards of them there, ripe for the stealing. Just as James climbed from the net to board the balloon, Squirtle let out a powerful blast of water from its mouth, somehow powerful enough to send the balloon soaring through the air, back where it came from.

The balloon settled into its usual steady and slow drifting once they had been blasted off ten miles west. Neither Jessie nor James had bothered to say "looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again" though. No. Both of them knew that there was nothing comedic about this particular failure.

The tension between the man and woman was as thick as the warm summer air around them. James leaned out the balloon on one side; Jessie on the other. They hadn't made eye contact since being sent away from the festival. Instead, they scanned the ground for Meowth, and remained perfectly silent. Excruciatingly silent.

Until Jessie finally dared to speak. "I should have figured it would end up like this."

James jolted slightly at the unexpected sound of her voice and turned his head toward her. He didn't know how to reply. She was right, after all. But it still didn't help to hear her say what he already knew, what he was already beating himself up about.

"And you were _so_ confident about it too. That's what really gets me," she continued, scoffing and shaking her head so many times it was in danger of falling right off her neck.

James' irritation began to grow. "Well, isn't that what a man is supposed to be? Confident?"

"Well, sure, I suppose so. But since when did _you_ become a man anyway?"

Jaw dropping, James turned to face Jessie fully. "Since my mama birthed me with a penis, that's when!"

The woman couldn't help but laugh. "Well, all right, that makes you male, but that doesn't make you a _man_ , James. Look, I'm not trying to offend you. I'm just saying…"

"What? What is it that you're just saying?" James's fists clenched at his sides, his stomach filling with knots of fury.

Jessie finally turned to look James in the eyes, though she completely ignored the rage to be found in them. "I'm just saying that there's no point in pretending to be something you're not. You're not a real man, so why try to act like one? It makes you look like even more of a fool than usual."

That was it. That was the last straw.

Rage spilling over, James moved in close to Jessie, pushing her up against the railing of the balloon. She gasped, feeling like she might tumble over the side.

"James! What are you—"

"Shut up, Jessie. You've said enough already."

His tone of voice was darker than she had ever heard from him before, and it sent a shiver up her spine. "What? James…look, I wasn't trying to…"

"I said 'shut up'! I'm sick of you saying I'm not a man!"

"Sick of…?" Oh, God. He must have heard. It finally dawned on her that he must have overheard her conversation with Meowth last night. She flushed, a rare feeling of guilt overwhelming her body. "James, wait…I didn't mean for…"

"The worst of it is that you don't even know! You don't know who I really am on the inside!"

This finally shut her up. At least for a moment, as she looked deeper into his green eyes and at last saw everything that they held: anger, obviously, but also pain and insecurity and…something else…something she couldn't quite name…

She looked longer and harder. And then it hit her like a brick to the chest: attraction. That was what it was. James, her flamboyant best friend, was looking at her with _attraction_.

Her mind immediately tried to make her question it, but she couldn't. Now that she had seen it, it couldn't be unseen. It was attraction, she knew it with as much conviction as she had ever known anything.

"James…you're right," she whispered, looking down. "I guess…perhaps I don't know who you really are on the inside."

James blinked incredulously. Hearing Jessie admit that he was right was definitely not an everyday occurrence. But what surprised him more than anything was the fact that she was now leaning forward and caressing his tie between her thumb and index finger.

She then looked back up and locked eyes with him again. "So what are you waiting for? If I don't know, then teach me."

Hearing this invitation, James could hardly believe how this conversation had taken such a turn. His face turned hot, and his heart felt like it might explode.

The natural timid and submissive tendencies he had been fighting against rose back to the surface, threatening to make him cower away from the chance that he desperately wanted. He had never even kissed a girl before. Oh, sure, Jessiebelle had planted a peck or two on his lips before, but that was kid stuff. As he gazed up and down her curvaceous body again, he was reminded that Jessie was anything _but_ a kid.

And he knew if he kissed her, it would rapidly escalate. Was he really ready for all that? Did he really have it in him to kiss her and touch her and pleasure her and violate her the way he was claiming he could? Or was it all just false bravado and futile wishful thinking?

As he continued to hesitate, Jessie let his tie drop from her hand. She sighed and looked away, equal parts embarrassed and disappointed. "Never mind then."

No. His chance was slipping away, slipping through his fingers into the summer night. "No…Jessie…"

"I'm sorry, James. I guess I misread you."

"No, Jessie, you…"

"Let's just forget this ever…"

"Jessie, you really don't know when to shut up, do you?" he said, and she looked back at him, surprised by how happy it made her to hear those words.

In fact, it made her so happy that it ended up being a uncontrollable girlish smile that he leaned in to kiss. An uncontrollable girlish smile that kissed him back softly, until he kissed her harder, his hands grabbing her hips and pulling her body roughly against his.

Her mind was spinning. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, she had become a little girl, weak and fragile in James's arms. And he seemed like a man, at least at the moment. She wasn't sure how long he could sustain this dominance, but she honestly couldn't wait to find out.

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS MAKE ME FUZZY INSIDE_


	5. FOREPLAY

_AN: Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited this story!_

 _WARNING: This chapter is rated M. It is explicit from beginning to end, so if you don't like that kind of material, please skip this chapter and wait for the next one. Thanks!_

CHAPTER FIVE: FOREPLAY

As his lips pressed against hers over and over, James finally understood what he had been missing out on all his life. Those childhood pecks from Jessiebelle hadn't prepared him in the slightest for the feeling of _really_ kissing someone, someone he burned with passion for.

The buzzing sensation coursing throughout his entire body, as if he had just been shocked by Pikachu. The lightheadedness. The greedy desire for more and more. The aching feeling that he would never be able to get enough of her, no matter how far they ended up going that night.

Naturally, it wasn't long before he dared to glide the tip of his tongue along her lips, instinctively knowing that he wanted it inside her mouth, tangling with hers.

She allowed this immediately, her heart racing as she imagined, and hoped, that her lower region would soon receive the same treatment. She was never one to take things slow once they became hot.

Though the fact that it was _James_ that things were becoming hot with…as mind-boggling as it was, there was no time to think about that, and how she felt about him, and how he felt about her, and what it meant for their friendship and for Team Rocket. No. She knew she would have to confront all of these things, but as he kissed her deeper and harder, she knew with just as much certainty that the time was not now.

Instead, she directed her attention to the loosening and discarding of his tie, and the quick unbuttoning of his shirt. He was taken aback by these actions; he didn't mistake Jessie for a shy woman, but he didn't know she would want to move _this_ fast.

A bit of fear crept back into his mind, and he pulled back from the kiss. This was of no matter to Jessie, however, who took this opportunity to plant feathery light kisses down his throat and chest, licking a line down his stomach and looking up at him as she tongued his navel.

"Mmm…Jessie…" he moaned softly, gazing down at her as his fears began to subside once again. She continued kissing his stomach gently and teasingly while she pulled down his jeans and boxers, ignoring the fact that the latter were covered in hearts.

He was grateful she ignored it, but even more grateful when he felt her lips moving further down his body, her mouth soon taking in as much of his hard cock as it possibly could. He moaned louder and reached down to grip her shoulder for some stability, as he had suddenly gone very weak in the knees.

She continued to maintain passionate eye contact with him as she began sucking. Being the sadistic person she was, she teased him mercilessly at first. Every movement of her mouth was slow and gentle and tortuous. He was tempted to outright beg her to go faster and harder on him, but he managed to refrain. Begging wasn't very manly, he reasoned.

Eventually though, he couldn't help but let out a whimper of frustration, and she finally started to suck quickly, aggressively. He closed his eyes tight in ecstasy. Relief washed over his body, and his brain shut down in the best way possible. Soon she felt him become rock hard in her mouth, and she could barely wait until she could have that perfect hardness deep inside her.

Moving her mouth down to the head of his cock, she licked his slit and placed a soft kiss on it before pulling back entirely. This brought him back to reality, his eyes flashing open.

"Jessie…why…why did you stop?!" he whined, at this point unable to worry about whether he sounded masculine enough, because all that was on his mind was just how good she had been making him feel. He had never experienced anything like it.

But she just rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Because it's my turn now! Did you forget that I have parts that need to be tended to as well? Maybe you _are_ a typical man after all."

The truth was though, James hadn't _forgotten_. He simply didn't know that he was even expected to return the favor. Experiencing his first kiss and his first blowjob was already life-changing enough, but now he had to _give_ oral sex for the first time too? He had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

As Jessie stood back up, she could tell from the clueless look on her friend's face that she was going to have to help move things along in this department as well. So much for him taking the lead. Oh, well. As long as he could properly dominate her when it came to the actual sex, she'd be happy. As for now, she did the honors of sliding her own skirt and lacy red panties down her thighs and to the floor of the balloon.

"Come closer," she demanded, and James instinctually obeyed. As they stood face-to-face again, she scoffed. "Now get on your knees, you moron! You won't be able to eat me out with your mouth all the way up here!"

"S-sorry, Jess…" He blushed, feeling things taking a turn toward the emasculating, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He couldn't fake knowledge he utterly lacked. Instead, he listened to her commands once again and sure enough ended up on his knees, his head between her legs. He looked up at her pussy, hesitating.

"Well? Come on, James. Do something!"

"Sorry, sorry…" he mumbled, his stomach doing flip-flops. Taking a deep breath, he decided to put some trust in his instincts. They had gotten him this far, at least.

Caressing her inner thighs with his fingertips, he ran his tongue along her entrance, instantly tasting how wet she already was. It excited him to think that she had become that wet just from sucking his cock, and it reminded him that she really must be attracted to him, which he still found surreal and hard to believe. 'But it must be true,' he told himself, and soon his nervousness about pleasuring her was replaced by a determination to make her aroused beyond her wildest dreams.

After teasing her entrance with his tongue for a few agonizing minutes that felt like hours to her, he finally slid his tongue all the way inside her, exploring her depths with eager curiosity. She tasted so sweet inside, as sweet as she smelled and much sweeter than she had ever behaved.

As he became familiar with her hot center, she tangled her fingers in his hair and bit her lip until she couldn't hold back her groans of pleasure any longer. These groans spurred him on to greater passion, and he pushed his tongue in deeper before sliding it out completely, in and out, in and out, until he found a perfect rhythm that made her body quiver.

"Oh, god, James…keep going…that's it…yes," she breathed, and he was just as obedient as ever. In fact, he probably would have continued eating her out all night if that's what she so desired, but at a certain point, she suddenly shouted, "Okay, stop, stop!"

He immediately withdrew his tongue, licked her sweet stickiness off his lips, and looked up at her, worried. "What's wrong, Jessie? Are you okay?"

"Yes…I'm fine…it's just…" she began, out of breath even though all she had been doing was standing for the past fifteen minutes. "I really need you to fuck me now."

"Oh," James uttered, blinking wildly. So this was it. The biggest first of them all. He swallowed a lump of anxiety that had suddenly appeared in his throat as he stood back up to face Jessie.

"Oh, James, this is so exciting! I've never done it in a hot air balloon before," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Have you?"

"Uh…um…well, no, I haven't…" He ran a hand through his hair and looked to the now darkening sky on his left.

She watched him; his sudden change in mood was not lost on her, and although she wasn't the brightest bulb in the closet, another important realization dawned on her. "Wait a second. Don't tell me you've never… _never_ done this. At all. Anywhere."

James hesitated, clueless of what to say. He considered quickly shutting down Jessie's assumption with a lie; he could probably get away with it if he did it fast and he did it persuasively. But the little bit of conscience he had wrestled with how badly he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Jessie yet another time.

Finally, he opened his mouth, still unable to look at her, and mumbled: "Then what would you like me to tell you instead?"

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 _AS ALWAYS, REVIEWS BRING ME JOY_


	6. LOVEMAKING

_AN: Okay, wow, I was unable to log into this account for the longest time and I finally was able to reset my password. So I'm back! You may all rejoice! Please read and review if you are still reading/interested in this story, so I can gauge whether it's worth it to continue after this lengthy hiatus. Thank you, and enjoy!_

 _*WARNING: This chapter is rated M* (I have received suggestion to change the story's rating to M instead of T but the reason I don't want to do that yet is because then it won't show up in the "updated stories" section of FF and will only be visible to those that specifically search for M-rated stories. I will change the rating to M when the story is finished.)_

CHAPTER SIX: LOVEMAKING

Jessie stared at her friend in disbelief.

But as she thought about it, she realized that as shocking as the news was, she didn't really mind it. In fact, she began to feel honored that he was choosing her to be his first. She even thought it probably meant that he _loved_ her and wasn't just physically attracted to her. Which, though she wouldn't freely admit it, was something she had always wanted from a man but never experienced.

Still, she wasn't about to let an insecure sissy fuck her. That was out of the question, virgin or not. Luckily, she got an idea about how to bring back James's manly side.

"So you really are a virgin? You're twenty-years-old, and yet you still have never managed to convince some poor girl to do you a favor?" She faked a high-pitched mocking laugh. "That is truly pathetic, James, even for you!"

Finally he turned back to her, and she saw that her plan was working: anger burned in his eyes, a decidedly masculine anger. Still, he remained silent and unmoving, so she added: "But maybe it's because you never _wanted_ a girl to do you a favor."

A derisive chuckle escaped her lips, followed by an exaggerated sigh. "See, I told Meowth you were a flaming homosexual, and it looks like I was right after all. But don't worry about it, James. We had some fun tonight, but we can chalk it up to friendly experimentation. We don't even have to ever mention it again, really. And since we didn't do anything of _consequence_ , you can keep your precious virginity intact, and go find a real man to fuck you. As a matter of fact, I can do the same, and we'll both be better off for it."

Oh, yes, Jessie knew all the right buttons to push to enrage James into dominance, and before she could say another word, she found herself pushed down against the wooden floor of the balloon, James atop her, his hands frantically lifting her shirt up and over her head before throwing it in the pile of their mingled clothing. And although he fumbled slightly when unhooking her bra, that too was gone in a matter of seconds.

Jessie sighed happily. Her eyelids dropped to half-mast as she settled into the relief of knowing that, as usual, she was going to get exactly what she wanted.

But for once, the same could be said for James. He wasn't used to things going his way, but as he gazed into the oceanic eyes of the best-looking woman he could ever hope to be in such a situation with, he could hardly believe his luck. Then he finally glanced down at the breasts he had exposed, and he could hardly believe his hardness.

Just like everything else about her appearance, her bare breasts were perfect to James. Huge, pale, perky, only noticeably asymmetrical if you were _really_ staring. Which he was. Until he realized that he wasn't limited to experiencing these beauties with his eyes alone, at which point he leaned down to kiss Jessie on the lips while massaging one breast in each hand.

A hum of pleasure escaped Jessie's mouth as she invited James's tongue inside once more. She could feel her nipples become sensitive and taut under her friend's fingers. Noticing this, he rubbed his thumbs over them until they were fully erect, and Jessie instinctively leaned up to diminish the gap between their bodies, rolling her hips against his as much as she could.

"Mm… _someone's_ rather eager," James cooed, pulling away from the kiss and smirking. "You really, really, really want me to fuck you, don't you, Jessie?"

A frown and a flush spread across Jessie's face. "I could take it or leave it, James! I'm not eager or desperate!" she assured, looking away. "…But if you're going to do it, you might as well just do it already!"

"Hmm…" James continued smirking, and Jessie wished she could slap the expression off his face. "Let's see if you're telling the truth…" With that, he moved one hand down from her right breast to her pussy, sliding two fingers inside her. She couldn't help but gasp, and her whole body tensed. The smirk grew bigger, and James slid his fingers deeper inside her, exploring. "Oh, my word!"

"…What is it?"

"It's just…you're _so_ wet! You really do want me, Jessie!"

"Oh, shut up!" Jessie snapped, hating that he could feel her heart racing under his fingertips as he continued caressing her left breast.

"Come on, just admit it!"

"No."

"Admit it, and I'll fuck you right now. I promise."

Jessie growled and turned her head to the side. James casually slid a third finger inside her, thrusting all three in and out quickly and rhythmically. Her stomach flopped with anticipation. "Oh…fine! Okay, I want you! I love you! You're the only one for me! Is that what you want to hear?!"

James stopped the movements of all his fingers, his eyes as big as saucers. "W-what?! Jessie, is that true?!"

With a roll of her eyes, Jessie leaned up to kiss her friend roughly, wrapping her legs around his waist tightly, at which point he couldn't resist his own desire anymore. He removed his fingers and replaced them with his cock, thrusting inside her wet, waiting pussy as deep as he could possibly go.

Both man and woman moaned in unison and in surprise. Jessie had been with a decent number of men before, but she had never felt _this_ filled—and fulfilled—by a guy before, while James was shocked by just how amazing it felt to be completely enveloped by such warmness, such tightness.

He began pounding in and out of this perfect hole slowly at first, enjoying each thrust to its fullest. He watched her face carefully; her eyes were closed, her eyebrows furrowed as if she were in pain, but her mouth offering up sweet sounds of unmistakable pleasure.

His favorite sound of all came when he pulled her hands above her head and pinned her wrists to the surface beneath them. She whimpered. She whimpered! He had never seen her more vulnerable than at that random moment, and it compelled him to start pounding into her pussy faster and harder.

"Ah…James…" She breathed his name in between moans and groans and more of those delightful whimpers, and James felt himself already nearing his climax. But no, he had to hold on longer. He had to make sure she came too. A woman like Jessie would never settle for being used as a mere toy for a man, he knew that much.

But how? He had no idea how to elicit that elusive female orgasm that he had only heard about in the locker rooms at Pokemon Tech and the occasional Cosmo magazine that he skimmed in the doctor's office.

Beginning to panic, he looked down and scanned her body for some type of answer. Feeling his gaze on her, Jessie opened her eyes and instantly raised an eyebrow at the worried expression on his face. "James, don't tell me you're already…"

"N-no! I'm fine!"

Jessie sighed, entirely unconvinced, and wriggled her hands free of James's grasp. She then pushed her friend off and out of her, and before he could complain, she turned herself around on her hands and knees. "Wait a few moments and then fuck me this way," she said, glancing over her shoulder at James. "Maybe you'll be able to last a little longer."

All James could do now was stare wide-eyed at her enormous, milky-white ass. "You mean…you want me to…in your bottom?!"

"What?! Of course not! That's a privilege you have to earn!" she growled, red in the cheeks. She had never let a man have _that_ privilege, and she wasn't about to start now. James's face dropped in disappointment. "You can still spank it though, so stop moping!"

Brightening up again, James situated himself behind the woman and slid his cock easily back into her slippery hole while resting his hands on her ass. After a few indulgent thrusts, he lifted one hand and spanked her right ass cheek gently.

"Harder," she whispered.

Obediently, James raised his hand again and smacked her ass harder, and harder, using her increasingly eager moans as direction. Soon enough, he was spanking her repeatedly and mercilessly, feeling her already sopping wet pussy become even wetter as he matched each spanking to the rhythm of his quick, rough thrusts.

His other hand instinctually moved around to grope her dangling breasts, playing with and pinching her nipples. He felt her body tremble under his touch and moved his fingers down her stomach and to her pussy until she demanded, "Stop! Right there!"

"W-what?!"

"That's my clit," she explained, assuming correctly that James had found it by serendipitous accident. "Stop there and rub it."

With only a vague understanding of what a clit even is, James decided not to question it and instead started rubbing Jessie's special spot just as hard and fast as his thrusts. He hoped this would do the trick, because he couldn't take much more of this. Trying not to cum into that sweet, sticky pussy was pure torture.

"Jessica…" he moaned, soon unable to ignore the building pressure in his stomach. He tried to hold back, he really did, but his body had a mind of its own, and without warning he came deep inside Jessie. As he released inside her, he finally found himself incapable of worrying about Jessie's pleasure, far too focused on his own. Every fiber of his body burned with a profound satisfaction he had never known.

Jessie, on the other hand, wasn't quite there yet. But she was surprised to realize that she didn't really care. As James tried to catch his breath, she pulled away from him and laid on her back once again, wrapping her arms around James's neck and pulling him to lie atop her. Their sweaty, heaving chests pressed against each other as he nuzzled his head against her shoulder.

For a few minutes, they simply laid like that in silence, until James broke the quiet by asking: "Jessie…did you…?"

After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Look, I've always been honest with you, and I don't want what just happened to change that, so…no. I didn't get there."

"Oh," James uttered, swallowing a lump in his throat. An old all-too-familiar feeling of failure washed over him. "I…I'm sorry…"

Jessie quickly smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, James! It was your first time, after all. I've been with far more experienced guys that didn't get me nearly as close as you did."

"Really?"

"Like I said, I'm always honest with you," she assured as she ran her fingers through his hair affectionately. "Besides, it's not like this is your last chance to make me orgasm. Unless…you want this to be a one-time thing?"

"What?" James suddenly sprang up, his heart only having just calmed down, only to start racing again. "No, that's not what I want at all! I want this to be a many-time thing!"

"Okay, okay, just checking! Heavens to Betsy," Jessie laughed and pulled him back down against her. He took a deep breath against her skin, inhaling the scent of her sugary perfume mixed with her sweat; it relaxed him again. "So what are we talking about here? Teammates-with-benefits? Secret lovers whenever Meowth isn't around?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Is that what _you_ want?"

James hesitated, biting his lip. He now knew that would take sex with Jessie however he could get it, but if it were entirely up to him, he wouldn't hide it and he wouldn't compartmentalize it. The words 'boyfriend and girlfriend' danced in his mind, but so did quite a bit of doubt. The closest he had ever had to a girlfriend was Jessiebelle, and he remembered how controlled and miserable he felt when in that 'relationship'.

Then again, he couldn't really compare the two situations, could he? He hated Jessiebelle, whereas he…

"Jessie…did you mean what you said earlier?" he suddenly asked instead of answered.

She blinked. "Earlier? You must be more specific, James."

"Earlier when you said you loved me."

"Oh, that." If her face had turned red when he suggested anal sex, then the color on it now could only be described as scarlet. She turned her eyes to the side, avoiding his gaze as he looked up at her curiously. "I was just saying whatever I thought would make you fuck me."

"Isn't that what a _man_ is supposed to do?" he asked, smirking.

"Oh, shut up! The point is that I didn't mean it, all right? I don't want you getting the wrong idea here, James. I value you as a friend and a teammate, and tonight was unexpectedly enjoyable, but don't get carried away here," she snapped, suddenly pushing him off her entirely and reaching for her clothes. "We can be friends-with-benefits, or we can forget this ever happened. Your choice."

James couldn't believe how quick the tides had changed. Only a second ago, she was playing with his hair and holding him close against her, and now? She seemed like she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. He couldn't wrap his head around it. "What? Those are the only two options?"

"Yes, and the longer you wait to decide between them, the more I'm leaning toward forgetting it completely." Her bra was now on and she was sliding her shirt over her head.

"Well, I…what if…"

Suddenly, a voice from below. "Hey! Jessie! James! Hey! Hey! Look down, ya numbskulls!"

"It's Meowth!" Jessie announced, urgently pulling on her panties and skirt before looking down from the balloon. Sure enough, the cat Pokemon was waving his paws frantically from a small hill not a yard away. "Meowth! We'll come down to get you. Just sit tight!"

James scrambled to get dressed as discreetly as possible in the corner. "What are we going to tell him?"

"Nothing. We need to figure things out for ourselves before we let him in on it, if ever. He'll only tease us, interrogate us, and make things ten times worse for us."

"Right…" James couldn't help but agree, although a part of him wished he could shout from the rooftops—or at least from the balloontops—that he had at last lost his virginity, and to a woman like Jessie no less.

In minutes, the balloon descended on the hill and Meowth climbed aboard. Only a bigger idiot than either Jessie or James wouldn't be able to tell that he was not in a cheerful mood. "What was dat?! I was down on dat hill for an hour, waitin' fer ya! What took ya so long?! And what da heck was with dat plan of yours, Jimmy? Talk about embarrassin'! You said it was guaranteed ta work, but I shoulda known betta! How could ya not realize dat Pikachu would light up the fest like dat? Huh? Didn't ya think of dat? And…"

Meowth gave pause as he really looked at his teammates for the first time since he got on the balloon. Their hair was disheveled, their clothes wrinkled, Jessie's skirt was on backwards, and James had a certain glow to his face that couldn't be missed. The cat stepped back in terror.

"…did you two play hide da salami?!"

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS ARE CHERISHED TREASURES_


	7. AFTERMATH

_AN: Thank you to everyone that's still reading after my hiatus! It looks like there are enough people interested in me keeping this story going, so that's what I shall do!_

 _Oh, but I got one guest review last time that said they hated chapter 6, and I honestly don't mind that at all, BUT...if you do hate a chapter, I'd really value hearing WHY, so that I can take that into consideration. In addition to this fic, I'm working on a novel and so constructive criticism is appreciated!_

 _Anyway, please enjoy the next installment, and review with your thoughts! Thank you~_

CHAPTER SEVEN: AFTERMATH

"What?! Of course not, Meowth! Why do you keep insisting that something is going on between me and James when I already told you I would never do something as disgusting as sleep with him?" Jessie yelled back, and James tried not to flinch at her words. Even though he knew they were lies, they somehow still hurt.

"Well, maybe because ya skirt is on backwards and I ain't never seen Jimmy's face so dang rosy before!" Meowth countered.

Jessie hurriedly glanced down at her skirt and resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead, instead resting her hands on her hips and lifting her nose in the air. "My skirt is on just fine! What does a Pokemon know about human fashion anyway? Wearing it this way is…a new trend!"

"Uh-huh."

Finally realizing that he should help Jessie with the cover-up, James spoke up: "Y-yeah, and my face is red because…well, it's quite the hot summer night, you know, and…"

"You're also still mortified about how miserably your grand plan failed?" Jessie offered, sensing that James was in desperate need of assistance.

"Right! That's exactly it!" James agreed as he mirrored Jessie by placing his hands on his hips, nodding confidently. "I'm still embarrassed. That's all."

Meowth raised an eyebrow at the two and shook his head. They were both horrible liars, far worse at the fine art of deception than they ought to be considering their chosen profession as 'bad guys.' But what really tore the cat up was that they were his best and only friends in the world, and yet they were trying so hard to keep this clearly monumental event a secret from him. Why? Did they not trust him to be congratulatory?

He wouldn't admit it, but it stung. Seeing them lie to his face stung badly. "Whateva. Jessie's fashionable an' Jimmy's humiliated. I guess nothin's new afta all, huh?" Meowth grumbled, setting the balloon off into the air again before curling up in the corner, as far away from the humans as possible.

James looked at Jessie uncertainly and whispered, "He seems upset. Maybe we should just tell him the truth."

"No," Jessie whispered back adamantly. "Just trust me on this, James. We don't even know what we're doing. Telling anyone, especially Meowth, will only complicate matters."

Glancing over at the cat, who had closed his eyes and appeared to be trying to dream away his irritation, James sighed. "All right. But then perhaps we should try to figure things out while Meowth sleeps."

"Well, it's entirely up to you to figure out. I already gave you the two options. Friends with benefits, or nothing," Jessie reminded him, as if he _needed_ reminding of the decision that was currently weighing heavy on his mind and heart. "So have you decided?"

James frowned. "Why are those the only two options?"

"What, do you want to be my _boyfriend_ or something?" The woman's trademark high-pitched laugh made Meowth stir in his sleep but fortunately didn't wake him. "Look, I know you are new to all this, but one roll in the hay does not a couple make. Especially when you barely lasted ten minutes inside me and didn't even get me off."

"I can't believe you're throwing that back in my face!" That was low, even for Jessie, James thought as he crossed his arms over his torso, a fresh set of blush lines decorating his cheeks. "Why are you acting like this? Just a few minutes ago—"

"When it comes to women, a lot can change in a few minutes," she explained coolly, and it dawned on James how much more he still had to learn about the fairer—or perhaps unfairer—sex. "Anyway, James, I'm tired of talking about this. I don't want to be your girlfriend, if that is what you were hoping for. I'm sorry, but that's not what I want."

Seeing James turn away, and the unmistakable look of heartache in his eyes as he did so, she softened as she added: "…And honestly, I don't think it's what you really want either. I think you're just confused right now. Tonight was a big night for you…I get that…I get that you probably think you're in love with me now or something, but it's probably just a post-coital high."

James remained silent, and Jessie sighed, approaching him closer and putting her hand on his shoulder. "Look, you're a sensitive guy, James. It makes sense that you'd have sex with a woman for the first time and immediately start thinking that means we should have candlelit dinners and walks in the park and late nights sharing our feelings, but…"

As she trailed off, he finally turned back to lock eyes with her. "But what? Why are those things so awful to consider?"

"Because…" She looked back into his emerald eyes, and doing so now made her melt on the inside in a way it never had before. How could it be that they had been friends for so many years, and yet she never noticed how beautiful those eyes were? Swallowing a lump in her throat, she shook off the lovey-dovey feeling in her stomach and forced herself to harden once more. "Because that's not us, James! Can you really imagine us doing any of those things? Please. It's too silly to consider. Even you must realize that."

Glaring back at her, James unfolded his arms and clenched his fists at his sides. "Why is it so silly? Can you give me one real reason?" Jessie failed to respond, and James furrowed a brow. "Or…"

"Or what?"

He cast a challenging sidelong glance at the redhead. "…Or are you just not woman enough to be someone's partner?"

Jessie's jaw dropped. "Not woman enough?! What in heavens' name do you mean?!"

Feigning a casual shrug, James looked out at the ever-blackening night sky. "I admit I don't know much about females, but I have a theory at least. Young _girls_ like to run around with different men, chasing this one and that one, keeping things casual and distant, right? Grown-up _women_ , on the other hand, are willing to move beyond the physical aspect of a relationship and open themselves up to something deeper…"

"You know what, you can stop right there!" Jessie huffed. "I didn't want to have to say this because I know your feelings are delicate, but if you are going to accuse me of not being woman enough, then you leave me no choice!"

James turned back to her with wide eyes. "You didn't want to say what, Jessie?"

"The real reason I don't want to be your girlfriend is…" Jessie bit her lip and took a deep breath. "The real reason I don't want to be your girlfriend is…"

"What, what is it? Come on, Jessie. I can take it. You said you would be honest with me, remember?"

"Okay, fine! The real reason I don't want to be your girlfriend is because I don't love you, James, and I never could!" she finally spat out. As soon as the words left her mouth, she gasped. She then glanced up into her friend's eyes for the merest of seconds, the longest bout she could manage before she ran away to the opposite end of the balloon. Soon she was huddled up next to Meowth with her arms wrapped around her knees and her back toward James.

And the lavender-haired man stared at this back for what felt like years of his life. Several times, he considered approaching her, but it was as if his feet were chained to that lonely spot.

Didn't love him and never could?

What?

Why?

He thought things had finally begun going his way! Sure, his villainous scheme failed, but the end goal was accomplished, regardless: he had kissed Jessie, touched her, gotten to know her better in one night than he had managed to in years…

He had given a part of himself to her that he could never give to anyone else for the rest of his life.

And now she wanted him to be okay with being her fuck buddy because she didn't and couldn't love him?

'I don't love you and never could.' It was 'James isn't man enough' all over again. Jessie's heartbreaking words had a distinct way of torturing his mind, circling around in it ceaselessly, refusing to leave him alone.

Although, at some point during the night, they must have, because eventually the man fell into a non-reparative sleep. He couldn't even remember when he finally closed his eyes, but the next time he saw Jessie, she was awake and seemingly refreshed, watching the sunrise with the cat Pokemon, chatting incoherently and laughing melodically as if nothing had happened the night before. James rubbed his eyes as this sight came into view, his head spinning. His first thought was that perhaps nothing _did_ happen last night; perhaps it was just another bizarre, unwelcome dream, like the first one about Jessie that started all this madness in the first place.

With this hope in his heart, he stood up and ambled groggily to the other side of the ride to join his teammates. "What a lovely sunrise," he offered after a yawn, creeping up next to Meowth.

"Mornin', Aurora. Yeah's, it's somethin', eh? Maybe today's gonna be our lucky day," Meowth said, unaware that James wasn't really looking at the sunrise at all; he was staring over at Jessie. As soon as he did, however, whatever small amount of hope he had for the previous night being nothing more than a nightmare dissipated as quickly as it formed. She wouldn't even look at him.

"Yeah, maybe it will be," Jessie said quietly, the exuberant smile on her face long gone.

Meowth looked up at the woman, confused. "What's wit ya? You look likes a dark cloud just appeared in da sky, but all I see's da sun."

Jessie hesitated and decided to change the subject. "I'm starving. Before we try to find Pikachu today, let's make a stop in the nearest town and get some food."

"Aye aye, captain! I could really go for some grub right about now," the cat agreed, happy to drop the subject if it meant turning it to finding some much-needed sustenance. "What about you, Jimmy-boy? You hungry?"

James continued gazing at Jessie, who had still not returned the favor even for a moment. She looked at the sky, at Meowth, at her nails…everywhere but at him. He scoffed softly. "No, actually, I don't have much of an appetite this morning."

Jessie visibly tensed but focused her attention on the steadily ascending sun, while James returned to his sleeping spot.

Meowth watched the interaction carefully but decided not to say another word about it. 'Oh, yeahs, they definitely had some hanky-panky, and now it's ruinin' their friendship,' the cat thought. 'But if they don't wanna tell me about it, then I ain't gonna help them get over it.'

A while later, Jessie finally smiled again when she caught view of a wide expanse of sea, sparkling like diamonds in the early morning light. "Hey, look! I think Cerulean City is coming up!"

Meowth scanned the horizon and grinned. "Yeahs, it's right over dere! Let's go, let's go! I wants some cod or maybe some halibut or even Magikarp bones, I don't even care, I'm just so hungry!"

"Calm yourself, Meowth, we're going!" Jessie snapped as she guided the balloon down, down, down until it landed gracefully in the center of the city. The trio abandoned it there as they got off and searched the area for somewhere to eat. It didn't take long before Meowth raced toward a restaurant that boasted 'The Finest and Freshest Fish in Town' and Jessie was keen to follow along, her stomach sounding like a Growlithe was stuck inside.

James, on other hand, remained behind. "You two go ahead. Like I said, I'm not very hungry," he said, stopping his teammates dead in their tracks. He had never declined a meal before, and he had never parted ways with them while in town unless external circumstances forced him to. This declaration of his was disturbing, to say the least. "I'm just going to walk around for a bit. I'll see you guys later."

With that, he turned away from them before they could ask questions, heading briskly down the bustling street, more than glad to get lost in the crowd for a while. However, while he found that the busy and indistinct sounds of the city helped drown out his thoughts, they did little to soothe his painful feelings.

'Why doesn't she love me?' he continued to wonder with each passing minute, with each step taken.

Inevitably, some time passed, and although wandering around aimlessly failed to make James any hungrier then than he was when they first arrived, he knew they'd be taking off in the balloon again soon, and if he didn't get some food in his body now, he'd pay for it later. So he stopped at a quaint bakery on Azure Street, sitting in a booth next to a freshly-cleaned window as he forced himself to nibble on a cherry danish and down a cup of coffee.

It was as he rested his head in his hand, gazing wistfully out the window, that he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, dear, are you all right?"

"Hm?" Recognizing that the question was directed toward him, he turned toward the voice. To his surprise, standing before him was a Nurse Joy, dressed in her usual pink-and-white uniform, her benevolent blue eyes overflowing with concern as she looked at him. "Me?"

"Yes, sir. I don't mean to offend, but you look rather disarrayed," she said, and James glanced down at his outfit. While initiating his plan last night, he had looked well-put-together—debonair even!—in this very same button-down shirt and tie. Now both pieces of clothing appeared wrinkled beyond reparation, and he could only imagine how uncharacteristically messy his hair must have looked, how bloodshot his eyes after his nearly sleepless night.

"Oh, hehe…" He blushed lightly and put a hand behind his head. "Yes, I'm fine. I just had a bit of a rough night."

"Oh? So you're not hurt? That's a relief." She then seemed to catch herself in a mistake and blushed right back. "I'm sorry, I have no business commenting on a stranger's appearance anyway. It's just that I'm a nurse in town—well, a Pokemon nurse, but still a nurse!—and I believe it's my mission to take care of anyone or anything that appears to need my help. I hope you understand! I didn't mean to offend!"

James smiled for the first time that day. "You didn't offend me, miss! I appreciate your concern. It's nice to be looked after and cared about, even by a stranger, and to be honest…" He looked down at his cup of coffee, the smile fading. "…I was in need of a little random kindness today."

Joy tilted her head. "Oh, wow. You really did have a rough night, didn't you?" The man merely nodded. "Hmm…would you like me to sit with you while I have my coffee? You could tell me all about it, and I'll do my best to help!"

"Oh, no, that's—" he began out of instinct. Chatting with strange women in strange cities was completely, well, _strange_ to him, and his gut immediately told him to bow out before even getting started. That's what his gut told him, but his hormones—newly awakened and now fiercely coursing through his veins as if he had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday—told him to take pause before declining.

Nurse Joy wasn't bad-looking, he discovered. He had seen her—or at least her identical cousins—dozens of times already, but he had never thought anything of her except that she always aided and abetted those infuriating twerps and thus was considered an enemy. But now, he noticed that her eyes were equal in color and in shine to the oceans just miles away…her skin could only be compared to flawless antique porcelain…her curves gave away her status as a woman…

…As a woman, not a girl…

James continued hesitating as he looked her up and down, and Joy patiently waited for him to finish his sentence. Snapping out his trance, he chuckled again. "That's…actually what I was going to ask you!" he said at least, offering her a second smile.

She smiled back, and her smile was the kindest he had ever seen.

No, Nurse Joy wasn't bad-looking. She wasn't bad-looking at all.

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS MAKE ME GIDDY_


	8. JEALOUSY

_AN: Thank you to everyone that read and especially to those that reviewed! You have a special place in my heart. ;) Please enjoy chapter 8!_

CHAPTER 8: JEALOUSY

Meanwhile, at the fish restaurant, Jessie and Meowth were on their second helping of food; the woman had ordered another plate of calamari steak strips, while the cat ate battered cod and French fries. "So uh, Jess?" Meowth suddenly mumbled with his mouth full. He may have learned human language but he never quite mastered human manners.

Then again, Jessie couldn't exactly be considered an expert on the subject herself. She continued to scarf down her steak strips, not even glancing up at the Pokemon while asking, "Hm? What is it, Meowth?"

"Was Jimmy really _dat_ bad in bed?"

Naturally, at the moment he asked this, Jessie had paused to take a sip of her iced tea and inevitably spewed it at the cat's face. "What?! I already told you we didn't—"

Meowth urgently shook the wetness off his fur. "Looks, I didn't wanna force it outta ya if ya didn't wanna tell me yourself, but this is gettin' ridiculous. He ain't even eatin' with us anymore! Ya gotta fix this, Jessie."

Jessie glared at the table, her ears burning pink. She hesitated, wondering if there was any reason to continue denying what the cat clearly already knew. "Damn it…" she sighed. "How did you find out?"

"I already told ya, I knews it as soon as I saw ya guys after ya came to get me on da balloon! Ya lies was as rotten as ya souls."

Another heavy sigh from Jessie, along with a formerly ravenous appetite lost. "Don't tell James you know. I made a big fuss out of keeping it from you, so if he found out that I so easily confirmed your suspicions when pressured…"

"I won't tells him," Meowth assured. Then, with a trace of hurt in his voice: "But why _did_ ya make a big fuss outta keepin' it from me anyways?"

Jessie looked down into the Pokemon's eyes and saw the pain in them. It was an unusual sight, and she had no stomach for it. Because she hadn't even considered that keeping this secret would hurt the cat in any way, and now that she knew it had, she felt guiltier than ever.

"I'm sorry, Meowth," she muttered, gritting her teeth. Those words were the hardest for her to say, well, perhaps tied with 'I love you', but she knew they had to be said. After all, she couldn't live with herself if she ended up losing both James's friendship and Meowth's in the same day. "I didn't mean to upset you. It was just…I didn't even…the whole incident was so unexpected and…I couldn't even process…because it was _James_ and…damn it, I'm not making any sense…" She hung her head in her hands and groaned.

Meowth smiled softly, though she couldn't see it. "It's okay, Jess. I dunno a lots about human relationships and all dat, and afta seein' what it's doin' to you and Jimmy, I'm kinda glad I don't. But I thinks I undastand anyways."

Jessie looked up again but kept her elbows propped up on the table, her hands cupping her cheeks. "Really? You do?"

"Yeahs, I thinks so." Meowth paused to take another bite of his fish, contemplating the situation as he tried to comprehend it. "You and Jimmy has been friends for a long times now. You thought he was a homo all dees years, but it turns out he's just a man and you's just a woman, and as soon as ya found out, ya acted likes a man and a woman acts. So ya lost a best friend and ya not sure what ya gained."

Jessie considered this and exhaled deeply. "I suppose that's true. James…he wants to be my boyfriend now, but that's not what I want."

"So he really _was_ dat bad in da sack, huh?"

"No!" Jessie huffed, and then blushed when she realized how quickly and vehemently she denied this accusation. "Well, I mean, he wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible either."

"Was he able ta dominate ya or whateva ya said ya wanted from a guy?"

The blush intensified. "Sort of. I had to teach him a few things, and he didn't take charge as much as I would have preferred, but I at least saw _potential_ for him to step up as a man."

The waiter came in the middle of this sentence to deliver the two their cheque, and Jessie's face continued to redden. 'Damn it, why am I acting like a lovesick schoolgirl?! Stupid James,' she thought.

"So what's da problem den, Jess?" Meowth asked, casually opening the cheque and seeing a bill for 10,000 yen.

"The problem is that I don't love him that way, Meowth! Just because he was able to figure out the basic mechanics of sex doesn't mean he's the right man for me. It doesn't change his personality. He's still the same whiney, passive, immature guy he always has been, and—you're not thinking about paying that, are you?"

Meowth had placed a crisp bill in the holder. "Huh? No ways. Don'tcha know counterfeit money when ya sees it?"

Jessie sighed with relief and slid out of the booth. "Okay, hurry, let's get out of here before they suspect anything."

"I'm with ya!"

With that, the teammates—rather suspiciously—sped out of the restaurant and down the streets as far as they could until they felt too tired to run any further. When they needed to catch their breath, they stopped at a bench near a fountain and took a seat.

"So…" Pant, pant. "Where da ya think…" Pant. "Jimmy is? We gotta finds him before we takes off again."

"How should I know?" Jessie asked between large gapes of air. "It's not like I can summon him. Unless…" A lightbulb appeared over the woman's head and she stood up from the bench, yelling as loud as possible: "Prepare for trouble!"

The two waited in suspense as all they heard in response was the chatter of passersby and the bells of a few bikes weaving past them.

Jessie's stomach felt tied in knots. Had she really lost her best friend so suddenly, so easily? After years spent slowly but surely forming a genuine bond with James, she couldn't bear the thought of severing it over a stupid sexual mistake. She had very few companions growing up, and opening up to people in the name of friendship didn't come naturally to her.

In fact, having grown up this way, she had learned early on that she had no need for friends. She survived perfectly well without them, thank you very much! Moreover, she had little _desire_ for them. What was the point anyway? They would probably end up betraying her, or at the very least dragging her down. She much preferred the idea of remaining as independent as possible, free from attachments, devoid of loyalties that could interfere with her plans and goals.

But something changed when she met James.

Jessie had already been softened a bit by her closeness with Cassidy, but it wasn't the same as the friendship she found with James. Cassidy's company, at first, was welcome; she enjoyed spending time with the woman, gossiping, shopping, and doing each other's make-up. It was fun. But it wasn't emotionally real.

If Cassidy left or even died, Jessie knew she'd be able to get over it rather quickly. It was the long-developed coldness in her that made this knowledge readily available. Jessie wouldn't risk her life for Cassidy, and she doubted the other felt differently about her. They could live with or without each other.

But James? He was her first _true_ friend, the kind that really cared about her well-being, the kind that would be there for her through thick and thin. Always. Unconditionally.

Or so she had thought.

"Pre…prepare for trouble!" Jessie tried once more, both her voice and body shaking. Meowth glanced up at her and then away, unable to watch what he feared may become a full nervous breakdown any second.

But then came a deep and deeply familiar voice. "And make it double!"

Jessie and Meowth instantaneously looked behind them and saw their old friend approaching with a smile. For the first time in what felt like forever, Jessie's heart was light.

"James!" she cried out, unable to contain her relief and happiness at seeing him.

He got closer and then stopped in front of his teammates. "Long time no see, you two," he greeted. "How was your lunch?"

Jessie stood by and examined him. He looked like his old self, cheerful and ready for action. But she could tell that something was off. After everything that had happened, she knew things couldn't return to normal after merely spending a couple hours apart.

While Jessie stared, Meowth answered: "It was amazin'! I could live in dat place! You shoulda gone wit us, ya know."

"Perhaps, but I ended up getting myself a lovely danish at a bakery not far from here."

"A danish can't compares to fresh fish, Jimmy!" Meowth countered. "But anyways, ya ready to go? Now dat we're fed, it's about time we go catch dat Pikachu!"

James quickly shook his head. "No, actually, we can't leave Cerulean City yet."

Furrowing an eyebrow, Jessie finally piped up. "What? Why not, James? Don't tell me you have hatched another _brilliant_ plan you want to force us into."

"Not at all, Jessie." James looked in her eyes for a mere second before smiling back down at Meowth. That second was long enough, however, for Jessie to see that his anger with her had far from subsided. If anything, it seemed fiercer than ever. "We can't leave Cerulean City yet because I have something I must do tonight!"

"And what's that?"

Putting his hands on his hips proudly, he smirked. "I just so happen to have a date!"

"What?!" Jessie and Meowth shouted in unison.

"Is that so hard to believe?" James asked, blinking and then shrugging. "I met a woman at the bakery. She had to go to work after we shared a meal and some scintillating conversation, but we couldn't get enough of each other, so we made plans to reunite tonight for a movie and dinner!"

Jessie was sure she was about to vomit. "You met a woman? Today? So soon after what happened last night?!" James raised an eyebrow, and Meowth nudged Jessie's shin. Then she remembered that James didn't know Meowth knew the truth and hurriedly added, "I mean, after we just failed to catch Pikachu again last night?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because! Since when do you pick up ladies in the cities we visit?! You should know by now that we're on an important mission, one we have yet to accomplish! We have a job to do! We only stop in these places to sleep and eat, _not_ to make dates!"

"Well, we don't even know where Pikachu is at the moment," James offered, having known that Jessie would protest staying in Cerulean City and having thought up as many rebuttals as possible. "So we could either leave now and float around aimlessly looking for it, or we could stay here for a while…rest, recuperate, stock up on food, steal as many Pokemon as we find in the area…and _then_ start looking for Pikachu when we feel truly refreshed!"

"Stay here for a _while_? I thought you just said tonight!" Jessie held a hand to her stomach, feeling sicker every moment. None of James's admittedly reasonable reasons could make her want to stay.

On the other hand, as soon as he heard 'stock up on food', the cat was sold. "Jimmy does have a point, ya know. All dis travelin' is gettin' tirin'. Da boss wouldn't mind if we stayed here for a bit, as long as we catch him somethin'! And I seen some pretty rare-lookin' Pokemon out and about today, as a matta of fact…"

Hearing Meowth side with James, Jessie felt betrayed. 'Is this some sort of revenge for me wanting to keep my sex life with James a secret from him?' she wondered.

But it really wasn't. Meowth just wanted to visit the fish restaurant again.

"Well, it's two against one, Jessie!" James said with a grin too happy to be authentic. "But don't worry!There are quite a few nice shops in this city, and I even spied a spa near the bakery! You could get your hair and nails done tonight while I'm on my date. That sounds fun, doesn't it?"

If she heard him mention that damn bakery one more time, she would strangle him. "Not as fun as actually doing our jobs! I guess I'm the only one that actually cares about this stupid team anymore!" she shouted before storming off, her veins throbbing with a particular type of fury that she had rarely known before. Like James, she had seldom been acquainted with jealousy, but now it filled every fiber of her being, making her lightheaded.

Neither James nor Meowth went after her.

Instead, the cat went back to the fish restaurant and lingered outside near the trash cans. He didn't dare go back in and order after having left the fake money just minutes ago. He decided to take his chances waiting for the scraps that the chefs deemed not fit for humans; he figured they'd still be better than anything these humans deemed fit for cats.

James meanwhile went shopping for new clothes to wear on his date. From one shop, he stole a short-sleeved button-down shirt, bright red and patterned with tiny white sailboats. From another shop, he stole a pair of tight-fitting white jeans, and from a final shop, he took black leather belt to complete the outfit.

At exactly eight o'clock on the dot, James stood outside the only movie theater in town, leaning against the wall as he waited for Joy to show up. Little did he know that Jessie had been just a few feet away, hiding in the bushes for the hours. And little did _she_ know that Meowth, who happened to be strolling by and trying to walk off the pounds of fish he had just consumed, saw her magenta hair sticking up from the leaves.

The cat smirked and slinked into the bushes behind her, waiting a few moments before speaking. "Hey, Jess, whatcha doin' here?"

Jessie screamed, and James whipped his head over at the sound, but she rapidly hid down lower and glared at the Pokemon. "Meowth, be quiet! Can't you see I'm _hiding_ here?!"

"Uh, yeahs, I _can_ see dat," he replied, inspecting his claws nonchalantly, highly amused. "I asked _why_ ya hiding here." He couldn't wait to hear what possible excuse she would try on him.

"Well, because…!" She paused and bit her lip. Damn it, damn it, damn it. "Because…" Meowth gave her a toothy grin, and she clenched her fists. "Because I like the scent of these rosemary bushes and I thought I might sleep here tonight, but I didn't want James to think I was spying on him!

Meowth tittered. "Wow, Jess. That was dumb, even fa _you_. Hey, I gots an idea! Why don'tcha stop keepin' stuff from me and let me help ya instead?"

The woman growled, defeated yet again. She hated that a Pokemon could outsmart her at every turn. "Fine. I'm obviously here to spy on James. Happy?"

"Yeahs, kinda. This could be fun if we does it right." Jessie rolled her eyes. There was nothing _fun_ about this nightmarish situation. "So what's ya plan exactly?"

"Well, I was thinking I would—wait! Is that her?" Swallowing hard, Jessie watched a beautiful pink-haired woman stride gracefully toward James. The woman was wearing a demure white dress patterned with big yellow daisies on it, low heels, and a straw sunhat.

Jessie frowned. "She looks like a prude. And I bet she got that dress at a flea market. The material looks cheap."

Meowth smiled knowingly yet again at Jessie before turning to survey Joy. "I dunno, I thinks she looks kinda pretty."

At this, Jessie socked Meowth in the mouth. "She is _not_ pretty, and if we're going to work together tonight, we have to be on the same page! We do not like this woman, Meowth. We don't think she's pretty, nice, or any other positive adjective in the thesaurus."

The cat groaned in pain and rubbed his lip. "And why's that again?"

"Because if James falls in love with her, then our days as a team are numbered! Don't you understand that? He'll want to stay here in Cerulean City _forever_ , to be with her. He'll quit Team Rocket and settle down and have disgusting green-eyed, pink-haired babies, and we'll be without a third partner! We'll have to do every mission by ourselves, or otherwise get assigned someone new to work with us! It could even be Cassidy or Butch for all we know! Is that what you want, Meowth?!"

Meowth hadn't considered any of that, but for once, Jessie was making sense. "Ya think Jimmy would leave us for this chick?" he asked, panic setting in. Then rage. "We can't let 'im do dat! He can't just abandon us for some random pretty girl he don't even know!"

Jessie raised a fist threateningly. "Some random _what_ , Meowth?"

"Uh, I means…some random _ugly_ girl he don't even know!"

Jessie grinned and nodded, letting her hand fall to her side. "I think we're on the same page now." She then turned back to the woman and watched as James looked up and noticed her walking toward him. He smiled so bright when he saw her that it made Jessie feel dizzy. The two greeted each other with an embrace and began talking animatedly as they found a place in line together.

"I can't hear what they're saying." Part of her was glad, but…"We need to know what movie they're seeing so we can sneak into the same screening room."

"Leave it ta me." Meowth looked both ways before silently slinking out of the bush and curling up in a ball at the corner of the ticket booth. No one seemed to notice his presence, including James, whose voice he soon heard asking for two tickets for _Pokemon in Love_.

'He's gonna see _dat_ piece of Schpielbunk?! Afta how da director treated us?' Meowth thought, fuming. Then again, he knew that he gone to much more embarrassing lengths for love himself, so he couldn't really fault the guy.

As James and Joy headed into the theater, the cat returned to Jessie and told her what he heard. When they were sure the coast was clear, they cut a few other people standing in line and paid for their tickets with Meowth's fake yen. Soon enough, the teammates were sitting in the back row of the movie, looking down at the pair of lovebirds on their first date.

"Okay, we're in," Jessie whispered. "Now what are we going to do to make sure that this date goes horribly awry?"

Meowth put a claw to his lips, thinking. "I dunno…"

The previews began to play, and it didn't take long before Jessie saw James lean over and whisper something in Joy's ear, something that made Joy giggle and turn noticeably red even in the dark of the screening room. Jessie felt a dull ache in her chest. A profound sadness that she was unfortunately familiar with.

But instead of acknowledging what it meant, she turned to Meowth again with renewed anger. "Well, start thinking! And fast!"

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS ARE CHERISHED LIKE DIAMONDS_


	9. SABOTAGE

_AN: Thank you so much to ladihawk, Ms. Lestrange Todd, HelloKitty55443, Malbara, Queen-B, CrayonMelting, SuperGirlShipper, HotdiggityDammit, and Guest for your reviews! Please enjoy chapter 9!_

CHAPTER NINE: SABOTAGE

"Okay, okay, sheesh!" Meowth hissed. "Ya know, you's could try thinkin' too. If ya even capable, dat is."

With a huff, Jessie turned back to watch James and Joy, who were in the middle of what appeared to be a lively conversation. "Tch. They are _so_ rude! Talking during a movie, even if it _is_ just the previews! Have they no manners?!"

"Well, dey may be talkin' durin' da previews, but ya _yellin_ ' durin' da previews…" the cat mumbled.

Ignoring this comment, Jessie rested her chin on her palm and began to think. "Hmm…" After a few minutes, an evil grin spread across her face. She pulled out her cell phone and began typing a message to James. "Aha! This ought to make her question just what kind of man she's wasting her time on!"

The previews were just coming to a close, and James didn't hear his phone beep, but he certainly felt it vibrate in his pocket. "Hm? Oh, I must have forgotten to silence my phone." Quickly pulling it out, he noticed a new text message waiting in his inbox, and against his better judgement (if he had any to begin with), he curiously clicked it open.

It was from Jessie, and it read: 'James, I hope you have fun on your date this evening, but I really do think we need to talk about the SEX WE HAD LAST NIGHT. I know it only lasted about TEN MINUTES and you FAILED TO MAKE ME CUM but I'm willing to give you another chance. After all, you were a VIRGIN UNTIL LAST NIGHT and to be a VIRGIN AT AGE 20 means you have a lot of catching up to do. So text me when you're done with your new plaything and I just might let you FUCK ME AGAIN. Maybe you'll be able to FIND MY CLIT THIS TIME WITHOUT MY HELP. xoxo, Jessie'

James squealed like a girl and turned as white as a ghost, beads of sweat instantly bedecking his forehead. Joy noticed and blinked in concern. "Is everything okay, James?" she asked, leaning over to glance at the text.

Before she could, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and laughed nervously. "Ahaha, yes, yes, everything's fine! It was just my friend texting me."

"Oh? Your friend? Is he all right? You look stressed!"

"She's fine! _I'm_ fine! Oh, uh, look! The movie's starting!" Thankfully for him, it really was, and this statement was enough to make Joy turn back to the screen, although the look of worry remain etched on her face. James seemed like such a kind, sensitive man, and despite only knowing him for less than a day, Joy found herself caring about him.

Butterflies flitted around in circles inside her stomach as she dared to reach over across the cupholder dividing their seats, linking her fingers through his.

"Eh?" James looked down to see their hands entwined, his cheeks immediately heating up. The pale face Jessie had created with her text had been replaced with a red one. Somehow, even though he had just had sex with a woman last night, this simple and unexpected romantic gesture made him more embarrassed than ever before. He felt like a 10-year-old boy.

Joy blushed just as bright and shyly glanced over at her date, who—after overcoming at least some of his embarrassment—offered her a reassuring smile and gripped her hand tighter.

Jessie, meanwhile, couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What? What just happened? Why is she holding his hand?" she whispered to Meowth.

"Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like ya text backfired, Jess," the cat offered. "I don't tink she read it. But I tink she got worried 'bout Jimmy 'cause a his reaction and so she was tryin' a comfort him by holdin' his hand."

Fire seared in Jessie's eyes as she stood up from her seat. "I know _that_ but why…why…"

"Why what?"

"Why does she even like him anyway?! She may be ugly, but James is no Prince Charming himself! Why is she holding his hand? Why is she even out on a date with him?"

A man behind the two kicked the back of Jessie's seat. "Hey, shut up and sit down, we're trying to watch the movie!"

"Oh, _you_ shut up!" Jessie began, but Meowth covered her mouth and dragged her back down to her seat just as James and Joy had turned around to see what was causing all the commotion.

"Jess, do ya wanna blow our cover or do ya wanna keep tryin' to ruin dis date?!" Meowth hissed.

The woman scoffed and crossed her arms over her breasts. "Fine, I'll be quieter. But sending that text was my only idea for ruining the date. It's your turn now!"

"Okay, okay…" The cat scratched his head and gazed back down at the pair, who had now pushed the cupholder upright so they could hold hands more comfortably. Joy even sat close enough to James to rest her head on his shoulder.

Then Meowth said: "I can see what's happenin'."

"What?" Jessie asked, blue eyes wide.

"And dey don't have a clue!"

"Huh?"

"Dey'll fall in love and here's da bottom line: our trio's down ta two!"

Jessie growled before whacking Meowth atop the head. "Stop singing Disney tunes and think of a plan, you worthless Pokemon!"

"Owww! Okay, okay…wait, I got one! I got one…but you gotta give me a few minutes to execute it." With that, Meowth scurried down the stairs and raced out of the screening room, much to Jessie's confusion. She was hopeful, however. Though she would never admit it to his face or even to herself most days, deep down she knew that Meowth was the smartest member of their team. If a plan was going to work, it was probably going to be one that he came up with.

Minutes passed, and by the time the cat returned, Jessie was more ready than ever to sabotage the date she was witnessing. Not one second of her time was spent watching the movie; instead, she couldn't peel her eyes away from James and that hideous nurse that had her paws all over him. As Jessie watched the temptress cuddle up with her teammate, she mumbled insult after insult under her breath: "God, this city must be severely lacking in men…she's acting so desperate, like she's never been on a goddamn date before…well, maybe she hasn't…after all, it looks like someone vomited Pepto-Bismol in her hair…and that tacky dress…dear heavens, she probably does all her shopping at Goodwill…"

"Jess, ya ready?" Meowth piped up, snapping Jessie out of her rant.

"Huh? Oh, you're back! Where did you go anyway?"

"Just ta get this!" Meowth held up a large soda in his paw, and Jessie raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you wasted time getting snacks from the concession stand!"

"A course not. Just leave it ta Meowth. Ya can stay here and watch." The Pokemon sure did seem to be getting a kick out of having this opportunity to act like a mysterious mastermind, and all Jessie could do was pray that it wasn't just an _act_ this time.

She watched Meowth tiptoe down to the row behind James and Joy, hiding behind the former's seat. He uncapped the soda in his paw and carefully leaned forward before spilling the entire Coke onto as much of the couple as he could manage. He then tossed the cup away and sped to the other end of the row, curling up into an indiscreet ball below an empty seat.

A high-pitched shriek erupted from the lovebirds, but it didn't come out of Joy's mouth. Her clothing had been left largely unscathed: just two tiny spots of soda tainted her dress. James's sailboat-patterned button-down, on the other hand, was thoroughly soaked through with the sugary sticky soda.

"Oh! James! Are you all right?" Joy asked in a panic.

"No, I'm not all right! My brand new shirt! It's ruined!" he whined dramatically, as if auditioning for a tragic Shakespeare play.

Hearing this from rows above, Jessie grinned. Meowth too, from where he was curled up. James's true colors were already beginning to show.

"Oh, dear…you're right," Joy agreed, examining the garment. She paused for a moment, looking from the screen back to her date. "Hmmm…how about we skip the movie then and go to the department store down the street, get you all cleaned up and buy another shirt, and afterward, we can have dinner at the Italian place next door? It's really very yummy!"

James blinked. "Skip the movie? But I thought you really wanted to see it…"

"You can't sit through two hours here with a sopping wet shirt! And it's really okay. It'll just give us even more time to talk and get to know each other!" She smiled with both her eyes and lips, and James continued blinking at her incredulously. Was it possible for a woman to be this genuinely sweet? His only experiences with the opposite sex thus far were his mother, Jessiebelle, and Jessie herself, so he had a hard time believing that Joy was _real_.

But even in the darkness of the room, James could see the undoubtable authenticity in that smile, and he couldn't help but offer her back one of his own. "Well…all right! I mean…if you're truly fine with it, then let's go!"

Taking her hand once more, James led Joy out of the theater, and Jessie carefully watched them go. Did Meowth's plan work? Were they calling it a night? It certainly didn't _look_ like this was the end of their date, judging by how their fingers looked glued together and by the way they couldn't stop grinning like elementary school children on a field trip…

'Damn it, Meowth! You really _are_ just a worthless Pokemon!' Jessie thought as she jumped up from her seat and stormed through the rows looking for him. Once she found him, she yanked him up by his back and carried him, kicking and screaming, out of the theater.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's da big idea, Jess?!"

"The big idea is that _your_ idea stunk worse than rotten eggs! It looks like their date just got cozier, if anything! We need to follow them!"

And so they did. They found the two in the window of the department store down the block. James ambled in and out of the dressing room, putting on a fashion show for Joy, who was delighted by each and every outfit he tried on. She even got the opportunity to glimpse him without his shirt a couple times while he was changing, and though her mind was as clean as the cloudless and unpolluted skies of Cerulean City, she could at least admit that she liked what she saw.

It became easy to discern that just like Jessie's, Meowth's plan had backfired big-time.

After a half hour of indecision, James finally decided to purchase—not steal, because Joy was attentively watching his every move—another nice dress shirt, this one as green as his eyes and with a paisley-patterned collar and sleeve cuffs. Joy liked it even better than the sailboat shirt, she said, and James believed her.

Their next stop was the Italian restaurant next door, where they sat at a table near the window and ordered a bottle of the place's finest red wine as they perused the extensive menu. Joy ended up ordering the rosemary chicken ravioli (her go-to whenever she dined there), while James—deciding this was a perfect time to show off his high-class upbringing—chose the tonnarelli alle uova di riccio, a sophisticated pasta dish that his family's chef had loved to prepare at least once a month when he was a growing boy. To Joy's admiration, he even pronounced the name of the dish in fluid Italian.

It was really rather impressive, and a thought flickered across James's mind: 'I wish Jessie was here to see that.'

Jessie…

"So James, you said you were in Cerulean City for business, but you never got around to telling me what you do for a living," Joy said, eager to start learning more about the man, as soon as the waiter had left the table.

"Huh? Oh, well, I basically travel around different towns in search of the rarest Pokemon to capture."

"To capture?"

James shook off the thought of his magenta-haired partner, which had been distracting him from the situation at hand, a situation that clearly demanded of him a quick and crafty lie. There was no way a goody-two-shoes Pokemon nurse would date a member of Team Rocket, after all. "I mean…to capture pictures of! I'm a…I'm a Pokemon photographer! Yeah, that sounds good, right? I mean, yeah! That's what I do. I travel and take photos of all the most unique and beautiful Pokemon I can find!"

"Oh, my, that sounds like fascinating work! Have your photos been featured in any magazines I might know of?"

"Uh…" Not knowing the names of any major magazines, James put it back on her and tried: "Well, it depends. What magazines do you read?"

"Ah, let's see…Pokemon Weekly, Cosmopokemon, Breeders United, Medic's Society…"

"What a coincidence! My photos have been featured in every single one of those publications!"

Joy beamed and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Really? That's amazing, James! Next time I buy one, I'll make sure to keep my eyes peeled for your name underneath the photographs!"

A sweatdrop appeared on the man's forehead. "Ah, uh, well…you might not want to do that because…I actually use fake names every time a magazine publishes one of my photos. Yeah!"

"Fake names? Why is that?"

"Well…" He swallowed and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "…Um, well…m-my father didn't approve of me becoming anything but a Pokemon researcher and he thinks I'm still in college training to become one, so I try to keep my career hidden from him." Lying was always somewhat difficult for James, only because of his relatively low IQ. However, for the first time in both recent and distant memory, lying felt difficult for an entirely different reason…

This woman was so kind, it seemed. She was so interested in what he had to say. She didn't insult him or make him feel stupid. She was a nurse; she loved Pokemon and would do anything in her power to help them. Lying to her felt wrong, and not the kind of wrong that James usually lived and loved to commit.

So before she could reply to his tall tale about his dad, he quickly changed the subject. "Ah, but work is work! Surely there are more interesting topics to discuss. Such as…do you happen to have any rare and beautiful Pokemon yourself?" Hey, it _was_ an interesting topic, and as long as he was still a member of Team Rocket, he felt compelled to find out. Just in case things went sour between them.

"Not especially. I have a Chansey but I started working at the Pokemon Center right out of med school, so I didn't get the chance to travel around and capture a lot of Pokemon," she said with a small wistful sigh.

James raised an eyebrow, and the waiter returned with their wine. "You seem unhappy about that?"

"Oh, no! Don't get me wrong. I love helping injured Pokemon. It's my life's calling! It runs in the family, and I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else," she assured, waving her hands in front of her face guiltily. "But sometimes I envy people like you, people that can see the world and get acquainted with even the most exotic types of Pokemon. Maybe in another life, I'd have been a photographer too! Or a trainer or even a breeder…"

James took a long sip of his wine as he considered this. Even though he _did_ go through endless frustrations by being a Team Rocket agent, getting blasted off by those twerps every day and suffering more injuries (both to his body and his pride) that he could count, he supposed that he _was_ lucky in the way Joy described. He had his freedom; that was the whole reason he ran away from home to begin with, of course, but in addition to that, he was basically being paid to travel the world with his two best friends, one of whom also happened to be something more than that…

"James?" Joy asked, noticing James's sudden quietude after putting the wine glass down. After studying the lacy white tablecloth for far longer than necessary or normal, the man looked up at her, eyes swimming with guilt. "James, what's the matter?"

"Joy, listen…I know I don't know you well, but you seem like a very kind-hearted person to me," he began.

"Oh, I don't know about _that_. I mean, I _try_ , but…"

"No, you are. You _are_ kind! I can tell, because you are the exact opposite of every other woman I've known. And that's why I don't think I can continue with this date the way I have been." Suddenly his heart drummed at what felt like a hundred beats a second. "You may hate me for what I'm about to tell you, and you have every right to, but I hope you will at least hear me out…"

Joy leaned forward in her chair, folding her hands across her lap as she looked back at her companion with furrowed brows, bracing herself for the worst. Was he married? Gay? Unemployed? She took a deep breath and prepared herself to be as open-minded as possible. "Go ahead. I'm listening…"

Meanwhile, Jessie and Meowth were crouched in the bushes outside the restaurant, trying their best to read the pair's lips. But even their best was not good enough.

"I tink he just said, 'Ya may fate me for what I'm about ta to sell ya, and ya have every night to, but I lope ya will at least queer me out…'"

"What? That makes no sense at all, Meowth!" She then sighed her deepest sigh yet and buried her head between her knees. "Oh, this is hopeless…"

Meowth frowned. "Hey, don't give up yet! We could always sneak inta da restaurant and—"

"And what? What, Meowth? Put a Caterpie in their food? What's that going to do?"

"Huh, I hadn't thought a tat, but tat ain't a bad idea…"

"You're right. It's not a bad idea. It's a _horrible_ idea! Don't you see, Meowth? They…" She turned back to look through the window. James and Joy still appeared to be in the middle of an intense conversation, and James reached across the table to hold her hand yet again. Jessie then turned back to the cat, unable to stomach watching anymore. "They like each other. They're bonding. They're sharing their feelings and all that other romantic crap that James wanted to do with me just because we had sex. All the stuff that I told him I wanted no part of."

"Well, shouldn't ya be happy den? Dat he found some other poor sap to do all dat stuff wit instead of _you_?" Meowth asked, testing her.

"No! Just because _I_ don't love him doesn't mean I want anyone else to!"

And she failed the test. Meowth sighed. "So what are ya gonna do den? Ya don't think we can sabotage dis date, but ya don't wanna see dem together…"

"I hate to say this, but I think this one is out of my hands," she admitted, her heart sinking and her eyes suddenly stinging with tears. "What else can I do? If she really likes him, then…" Then a realization dawned on her and she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "Hey, but wait a second…she doesn't like the _real_ him though, does she? No. Of course not! James would never tell her the truth about his status as a Pokemon thief! She probably thinks James is a sweet innocent cinnamon roll! Little does she know that he spends his days trying to rob sweet innocent cinnamon roll trainers of their sweet innocent cinnamon roll Pokemon!"

Quickly, she bounced to her feet in triumph, a wicked grin spreading from ear to ear. "Meowth, it was far easier than either of us gave it credit for! We don't have to sneak around sending embarrassing texts and spilling sodas. We just need to expose James for who he really is, and Joy will dump him herself!"

Meowth's eyes lit up excitedly. Sure, he would have preferred if Jessie realized her blatantly obvious feelings for James and asked him to dump Joy and be her boyfriend instead, but this scheme still sounded like it could be a lot of fun. Besides, whatever it took to make sure James stayed with Team Rocket and didn't leave the organization to settle down with Joy, the cat would eagerly be a part of. "You's right, Jessie! It was right in front a our noses da whole time!"

Jessie cackled and rested her hand on her hip. "Who's the real genius of this team, hm? Now. How exactly are we going to go about exposing our favorite lavender-haired villain for what he really is?"

"I dunno. I tink tat's up to da real genius of da team to figure out," Meowth teased.

"Fine! I will! And it'll be the best plan I've ever come up with." Jessie's eyes glowed with determination. "Mark my words! By this time tomorrow, James and Joy will be finished!"

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS KEEP THIS STORY GOING_


	10. DISCORD

_AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! Shout to last chapter's lovely reviewers: Kelcifer, ladihawk, CrayonMelting, Eleos Argentum, Rodent2000XD, Ms. Lestrange Todd, JessieRocket, SuperGirlShipper, chipotlepeppers, IamSomething, ILIKECHICKEN, and KatSaysHi. Your comments are very much appreciated! Please enjoy chapter 10, everyone~_

CHAPTER TEN: DISCORD

Later that night, Meowth used what little was left of his fake money to rent out a room for himself and Jessie at a cheap hotel near the ocean. The bed was dirty and the walls were thin, but at least the two had a nice view of the water from outside their window, and it was better than sleeping in the bushes or in the balloon, both of which they often had to do when they were in the midst of traveling.

Sighing, Jessie watched the tide ebb in and out under the black, starless sky. "Do you think they're still eating?" she suddenly asked as Meowth curled up at the end of the mattress.

"I dunno. Maybe they went back to her place already," he teased.

Jessie turned 180 degrees to face Meowth, frenzied."What?! No way! You think James is going to stay with her tonight?!"

"I dunno! Calm down, Jess! I was just kinda kiddin', but I mean, I dunno! How do humans go about des things anyway? You and Jimmy did da nasty without even havin' a date first…"

"Yes, but that's different!" Jessie insisted, hands balling into fists. "James and I…well, we've been friends for years! It's completely different!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay…Sheesh. Forget I said anythin'!"

But she couldn't forget. Meowth fell asleep effortlessly after having gotten comfortable on the bed, but although just minutes ago Jessie had felt exhausted by the day's emotionally draining events, the cat's comment woke her right back up. She once again glanced at the ocean but the soothing sight had no effect on her. Her heart was still racing, her body trembling.

Quickly, she reached for phone and sent James another text: "James, I don't know when you'll be done with your date tonight, but if you need a place to crash, Meowth and I got a room at the Waterfront Hotel. Room 214. We'll leave the door unlocked."

After sending it, Jessie sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her phone in anticipation of a reply. Which never came.

The woman sat there for a half hour, alternating her gaze between the sea and her phone every few minutes, before it finally became apparent to her that James had no intention of responding to her kind gesture. She then slammed her phone on the dresser-drawer next to the bed and laid down on the mattress, gripping the covers too tightly, her stomach full of an unpleasant mix of rage, fear, and envy.

'I try to do a nice thing,' she thought to herself, eyes wide open. 'And he doesn't even reply! So either he's deliberately and quite rudely ignoring my texts or he's busy fucking her and hasn't even seen it yet. But it's been a half hour, and James couldn't have lasted that long! Ha, no, he couldn't have…the inexperienced sissy he is…'

Slowly, she closed her eyes, hoping that she could fall asleep, desperate for at least a few hours of vacation from thinking about James. Instead, her thoughts of him kept her awake, though they did become more jumbled as she grew wearier.

'After one night with me, he becomes a man-whore…sleeping with that ugly nurse after only a day of knowing her…and she…she must be a slut herself if….but maybe they're just talking…or still eating…maybe…but I shouldn't care anyway…what is it to me if he sleeps with her? Nothing. Nothing to me. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter…'

Her mind must have repeated this phrase about fifty times before it at last gave her the reprieve she craved and allowed her to drift off into the comforting superficial world of dreamland, a place where there was no James and there was no Joy. There were only Pokemon to steal. Riches. Luxurious fur coats and pink champagne.

It was in this blissful dream state that James found her when he opened the door to Room 214 two hours later. He immediately noticed that both his teammates were fast asleep, and by God did Jessie look beautiful when she was. Even in the dark of the room, he could make out the features on her face, delicate and innocent, so unlike how they appeared when she was awake. Her hair was messier, and her chest rose slowly and steadily with each breath that escaped her barely parted lips.

Turning away from the sight, he tried to be quiet as he shut and locked the door. He then slipped off his shoes and pants, remaining in his shirt and boxers as he slid onto the bed, his feet just inches away from Meowth's ears, his chest just inches away from Jessie's back.

The tension was instantly unbearable.

He couldn't count how many times he had slept next to Jessie like this, in forests and fields, in meadows and on mountains. But not once did it feel like this. Like just being close to her could turn him into an insatiable sex fiend if he let it.

But damn…the honeyed scent of her hair, the accidentally erotic sound of her heavy breaths, the simple knowledge that her ass was right there…

"James?"

James blinked in the darkness as he heard her voice, snapped out of his progressively perverse thoughts. "Jessie? Are you awake?"

"Mm…now I am," she grumbled, turning over on her side so that she could face him. She rubbed her eyes and tried to make out his face in the dark. She couldn't see much but she too could instantly feel the startling electricity that buzzed between their bodies.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," he whispered, not wanting to do to the same to Meowth. "I was trying to be quiet, I swear!"

"It's okay." After a long minute, she added: "So how did your date go?"

James hesitated, mincing his words carefully. "It went quite splendidly, actually."

Jessie's heart dropped but she kept her voice casual. "Oh? What did you end up doing? Dinner and a movie?"

"Yes. Well, not so much the movie. It's a long story," he said with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. Since she already knew the story verbatim, she was glad that he skipped repeating it to her. "Dinner went according to plan though!"

"Mm, and then what?"

James swallowed nervously. "You mean, uh…after dinner?"

"Mmhm…"

Sensing what she was getting at, he tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Jessie…"

"What? We're still friends, aren't we?" she said with a fake smile. "And since we're nothing more than friends, I see no reason why you can't tell me what you and that ug—and that nurse did after dinner."

"Jessie…" James started, wishing his damn heart would slow down at least a little bit. "I, uh…I don't know if we should talk about these kinds of things with each other! After all, even before any of this started, you never told me about the men you'd go out with. I knew you went on dates every now and then, but I never pried…"

"Oh, so you're saying I'm prying, huh?"

"Well, not exactly, but…"

"Did she do this to you after dinner?" Jessie suddenly asked, closing the gap between their bodies and wrapping her arms around James's neck.

"J-jessie…"

"And a little bit of this?" Looking into his eyes as much as she could in the darkness, she pressed her lips against his Adam's apple and sucked on its skin softly.

"Jessie, wait…"

"And I bet she couldn't resist doing a little bit of this…" she said next as she moved her hand down to James's boxers, rubbing his already well-formed bulge through their fabric. At this action, James could only moan in response, and Jessie smirked in the dark. "Mm, that's more like it…I bet the little slut loved your big cock, didn't she, James?"

Again, James replied with a moan rather than words and Jessie took this as her cue to guide his hand under her skirt and into her panties in return. "But her pussy wasn't as wet and tight as mine, was it? The whole time you were fucking her, you were wishing it was me. Don't deny it."

James instinctively slipped two fingers inside Jessie and whimpered when he once again felt the snug slipperiness she was bragging about. "Jessie…we shouldn't do this…" he protested, but even he wasn't fully convinced of his own words.

"And why not? You know, that text I sent you earlier…I meant it. When I said I'd give you another chance at fucking me."

"B-but you…you still don't love me. Right, Jessie?"

"No, I don't love you. But are you a man or not, James?"

James slowed the movements of his fingers, furrowing his brows. "What do you mean?"

"A man doesn't require love in order to have sex," she explained, feeling like she was teaching a sex ed course to a twelve-year-old.

Then the movement of his fingers stopped. "Well, if that's the case, then…maybe I'm really not man enough for you." He removed his hand from Jessie's panties and backed away from her touch.

"Oh, come on, James. Don't be like this..." she purred, snuggling closer to her friend and trailing her fingertips up and down his chest.

"Jessie, stop!" He grasped her hand harshly in his, impeding the motion of her fingers. "I can't do this. I can't! Joy is a wonderful woman with the capacity for real love, and I can't throw that away just to be snuggle buddies with you!"

"Snuggle buddies?" Jessie's eye twitched and she pulled her hand out of his. "Don't call it that! You sound like a child!"

"What I call it is irrelevant! The point is, I can't do it!" James turned his back toward Jessie and moved further down the bed, as far as he could get away from Jessie as possible without falling off the edge.

Jessie sat upright in bed and her mouth hung open. "I…I'm offering you hot, rough, passionate sex…and you're rejecting it?!"

"Yes!" James said firmly, and his penis hated him for it.

"You do realize that Joy would never even find out, don't you?"

"How do I know you wouldn't run off at the first chance you get to tell her?"

Jessie bit her bottom lip. "Well, you make a good point there…"

"That's what I figured!" He frowned. "But even if I knew with the utmost certainty that you wouldn't tell…I still wouldn't do it! It's immoral!"

"Since when do you care about morality?!" Jessie growled. "Doing bad things is what we live for!"

James was silent far too long for Jessie's taste before finally uttering the useless mysterious phrase: "Sometimes things change, Jessie."

The woman scoffed. "Don't tell me that after knowing this goody-two-shoes for one measly day, you've turned into an angel. The next thing I know, you'll be quitting Team Rocket and running off to make babies with her!"

"Maybe I will! What's it to you?" James yelled back, now sitting up in the bed and looking directly into Jessie's eyes.

"Maybe you will? James, do you even hear what you're saying? Talking about quitting Team Rocket for someone you barely know?!"

"Like you've never entertained the idea yourself? Jessie, you've had plenty of shots at finding love and a life beyond this job. Allow me mine!"

Jessie's body began shaking. "So that's all Team Rocket is to you? A job?"

The man hesitated and turned away from his partner. "No. It's months of going without a warm meal…months of getting new injuries just after recovering from the last batch…months of bathing in filthy rivers and muddy lakes…months of having even our most ingenious plans foiled by those exasperating twerps…and after what happened last night, you know what else it'll be? It'll be months of traveling around with a woman that I love that doesn't love me back. And that's the absolute worst of it."

Jessie forced back tears that suddenly threatened to make their way down her cheeks. "James…"

"Getting the chance to spend time with you and Meowth has been the saving grace of this job. If it wasn't for that, I would have quit long ago," James continued. "But now the one thing that kept me coming back day after day is the very thing pushing me away."

"James…"

James looked back at Jessie, waiting for a reply. For some small sign that she cared about him even half as much as he cared about her. For anything. But instead, Jessie shut her mouth and looked back toward the ocean.

At this, James got up from the bed, pulling his pants and shoes back on. "I can't stay here tonight. And the truth is that Joy did offer me the chance to spend the night at her place, but I…well, I got your text and…" He trailed off and shook his head. "Anyway, I think it's probably best if I take her up on it."

Jessie's gaze remained on the water. She couldn't let James see the water shining in her own eyes. "Okay. If that's what you think is best."

James quickly left without a goodbye. Jessie startled as she heard the door slam, and immediately burst into tears as soon as she knew it was safe to cry freely. She buried her head between her knees, a full-grown woman sobbing like a little girl.

"You numbskull!" Meowth suddenly screeched, causing Jessie to look up in a panic.

"W-what? Meowth, I…"

"Oh, save ya lies! I've been awake since you and Jimmy started touchin' each other all gross-like!"

"What?! Why didn't you say something?!" Jessie wiped her eyes with her forearm.

"'Cause as disgustin' as it'd be to listen to you and Jim humpin' like cottontails, I thought it'd at least make tings betta for da team! Instead, you went and made tings ten times worse! Now he's gonna go and quit Team Rocket! That's what we was tryin' to prevent!"

"I know, Meowth! I know that! Stop screaming at me!" As if the guilt and confusion wasn't weighing her down enough, she certainly didn't need the talking cat to make her hate herself anymore for what she had just done.

"Well, what's ya plan to stop it den?"

And now the pressure was really on. Jessie really hadn't given any thought to the plan she promised would finish James and Joy's relationship; she thought she would sleep on it and a brilliant idea would come to her in the light of day. But after what just happened, she knew she had to deliver something to Meowth quick before he lost all faith in her completely. "A Pokemon pageant!"

"Eh?"

"Yes! A Pokemon pageant! Tomorrow you and will disguise ourselves as expert Pokemon breeders. We'll host a pageant for all the Pokemon in Cerulean City, telling trainers that we'll be judging on beauty, talent, and battling skills, and that the prize for the contest winner will be…oh, I don't know…what's something trainers want?"

"For der Pokemon not to be stolen?"

"Something besides that!"

"Uh…elemental stones?"

"Fine, fine. We'll tell them that the contest winner will get a nice cash prize and a set of elemental stones! But in the meantime, while we're 'judging' the Pokemon behind the scenes, we'll really snatch them all up in our net and—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, but how will dat keep Jimbo on da team?"

"Well, think about it, Meowth! When James sees how many rare and beautiful Pokemon we've gathered in one place, his inner bad guy will resurface before I can say 'prepare for trouble'! He won't be able to resist helping us with such a fool-proof plan! And then…we'll just make sure that Joy is in attendance for the pageant and that she sees James for who he really is. She'll break up with him on the spot, further cementing his decision to stay with us, the people who love—I mean, support him!—for his true self."

"Hey, dat's not bad, Jess. Not bad at all!"

"It's perfect, isn't it? And I just came up with it on the spot too!" Jessie flipped her hair over her shoulder confidently.

"Yeah, it sounds like it'll work, but I just got one more question for ya."

"All right, what is it?"

"Exactly how long have ya been in love with Jimmy anyway?"

 _REVIEWS ARE LIKE BIRTHDAY SHEET CAKE_


	11. NIGHTMARE

_AN: Thank you again to all my readers! And of course, a special shout-out to those that left me a review for the last chapter: wuyathebest, HelloKitty55443, CrayonMelting,_ _Thepkmnffluvr,_ _Hotdiggitydammit, ladihawk, ILIKECHICKEN, Ms. Lestrange Todd, JessieRocket, SuperGirlShipper, Malbara, Kelcifer, and Tuxedo Pearl!_

 _One other note: a few of you have tried to PM me and I haven't been able to open/read your messages. I contacted the site about it yesterday, so hopefully this issue will be resolved soon. This, after I hadn't been able to log into this account at all for months. Why does this site hate my beautiful account?! Oh, well, at least all of you seem to appreciate it! ;)_

 _Please enjoy chapter 11! Chapter 12 will likely be the last one. How do you think the story is going to end? How do you want it to end? Any and all reviews are truly cherished! Thank you!_

Jessie's face brightened like a shiny red apple. "Exactly how many times do I have to tell you I'm not in love with him?! God! Why does no one believe me when I say that?"

"No one? Ya mean ya self?" Meowth offered with a knowing smile.

A smile that Jessie had no intention of returning. "No! I mean, you and James! I mean, well…maybe now James believes me, but he should have taken me at my word the first time I told him, and instead he asked me again tonight if I loved him, and I had to repeat myself, and I keep having to repeat myself, and…"

"Whoa, Jess, slow down! Ya gonna have a heart attack!"

Jessie took a much needed breath and lay back down on the bed, staring up at the chalk white ceiling. "Meowth, I'm only going to say this one more time, so listen carefully: I'm not in love with James. And if you interrogate me about it even once more, you're going to see me angrier than you've ever seen me, and although I'll still look beautiful, it won't be a pretty sight. Understood?"

The cat blinked at Jessie nervously. He had seen her angry before. He had seen her angry almost every day, in fact! Usually this anger was directed at the twerps more than himself, but still. A furious Jessie was both a common and an intimidating force to be reckoned with. So, with a defeated sigh, the Pokemon stretched out at the foot of the bed, shaking his head in the dark. "Whateva ya say, Jess. I just hope ya know what ya's doin'. Jimbo sounded pretty dang serious 'bout leavin' Team Rocket, so if ya do love him…" At this, Jessie shot Meowth a dangerous look. "I mean, if dere is even a possibility! Ya should tink long and hard 'bout it. Dat's all. I'll shut up now."

"Please do! I've had enough of this conversation. Of all conversations. I just want to sleep now," she groaned as she turned over on her side and curled up in a fetal position. Soon enough, her eyes were closed and her hands were gripping the covers tightly around her lithe frame.

Meowth decided no more could, or needed, to be said. He shut his eyes again, but he had a much more difficult time falling asleep now than he did earlier in the night. As annoying as James could be at times, the cat had grown understandably attached to the man. He considered him a friend, a teammate, almost a brother. He didn't want to picture his life without the lavender-haired fop in it.

Jessie didn't want to picture hers without him either, but her brain forced her to do just that, as soon as she fell asleep again. Her dream opened on a sunny day and a countryside cottage quite unlike the mansions that usually filled her fantasies. This home was quaint and could hardly be described as luxurious, but it boasted a garden of colorful flowers on its left side, a sturdy apple tree with a tire swing on its right, and a white picket fence surrounding the entire exterior.

'A white picket fence? Seriously, Jessie, could you get any more saccharine and cliche?' her mind wondered, but the question went unanswered as the dream moved inside the house. A fireplace glowed and crackled in the living room, across from a velvet armchair, and someone was sitting in that chair…someone wearing a burgundy robe, smoking a pipe, and reading a book…

"Jessie, is the pie almost ready?! I'm starving!" the person's voice whined, and Jessie instantly knew it was James making himself comfortable in that very comfortable-looking chair. Then she saw herself sashay around the corner, clad in a white apron and a dress as pink as cherry blossoms. She immediately wished she could wake up from this repulsive dream, but she had no such luck.

"James, I already told you it would be ready in a half hour! Stop complaining and show some patience!" she heard herself admonish lightly, though there was no hint of the edginess her voice usually contained.

James pouted, making his already big green eyes look even bigger somehow as he gazed over at her. "But I'm hungry."

"I know you're hungry! You're always hungry. It's no wonder where Everett gets it from," Jessie replied, ambling back into the kitchen and adding a hefty dash of cinnamon to the pie she was diligently preparing. As if on cue, a little boy with wavy lavender hair and sparkling blue eyes came rushing into the kitchen and pulled on Jessie's dress.

"Mommy! Mommy! When's the pie gonna be made?" the boy asked.

"Everett, I just got done telling your father that it'll be ready in thirty minutes," she said with a sigh but also a smile. "I swear you two have the patience of five-year-olds."

"But I am five years old!" Everett countered, letting go of Jessie's dress and hugging her leg instead. "Right, Mommy?"

"That's true. I suppose I can give you a pass," she agreed. "But your dad has no excuse!"

Out of nowhere, like the Cheshire Cat, Meowth appeared seated on the kitchen table, grinning at Jessie. "Ya know, Jess, ya might not wanna bad-talk his dad in front a him like dat."

"Meowth, make yourself useful and pass me the sugar instead of giving me parenting advice."

As the Pokemon shrugged and did as the woman asked, James suddenly walked into the kitchen. Jessie groaned and turned her back to him, adding sugar to the pie. "James, coming in here and harassing me won't make the process any quicker. Go back and finish your book. There are too many people in the kitchen now!"

James remained robotically still, and his face was drained of all color. "Jessie, I need to tell you something."

"That you're hungry? I know, I know."

"No. Jessie…" James reached out and grabbed Jessie's wrist, turning her away from the dessert so that she was facing him. He looked more somber than she had ever seen him, and dread washed over her body.

"James? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Jessie, I'm leaving you."

"…W-what?"

"I'm leaving, and I'm taking Everett and Meowth with me."

Jessie felt like her heart was being squeezed by an iron fist. "James, what are you talking about? Is this some kind of twisted joke? Because it's really not funny. Not in the slightest!"

Instead of answering, James proceeded to calmly pick Everett up, and Meowth climbed onto his shoulder as if he knew this was coming. The people Jessie loved most in the world mechanically walked out of the kitchen and then out of the living room and then out the front door of the house. Jessie ran after them, screaming, but she couldn't hear her own scream.

As soon as she reached the outside, she noticed that the sunny blue skies had been painted black, and everything else was stark white, covered in thick snow. "James, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?"

"I don't love you anymore," he said simply, in an emotionless voice.

"But why?"

"Because quite frankly, you're a bitch."

Everett giggled. "Daddy said a bad word!"

But James ignored his son's comment and stoically continued: "You're mean, and you're selfish. You're bossy, and you're uncouth, and you have the IQ of a peanut. When we were young, I fell in love with your beauty, but now even that has faded, and I finally see what has been hiding underneath it: an ugly heart. If you have one at all, that is."

Jessie trembled from head to toe. "James…"

"Now that you're nothing more than an old hag, I can't bear to be with you anymore. Goodbye."

"James…wait…James!" Jessie cried out as James, Everett, and Meowth faded into a pearly white torrent of snow. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands, sobs so loud and so animalistic that they could only belong to the heartbroken.

At that moment, Jessie was jolted out of her deep sleep by Meowth's voice: "Jess! Jess! Wake up!"

"H-huh? James?"

"Does I sound like Jimmy?" Meowth asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, Jessie. Wake up! If we wanna pull dis Pokemon pageant off, we gotta get started early!"

The woman's heart was still drumming like crazy against her ribcage. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up in bed and quickly tried to shake her nightmare off before Meowth started asking questions. "Uh…yeah, right, right…we do…"

"So what's da first step? What's da first step, Jess? Huh? What's da first step?"

Her brain was barely functioning, she desperately needed coffee, and she just had the worst nightmare of her life, so naturally, she snapped: "MEOWTH, I JUST WOKE UP! HOLD ON FOR A FUCKING SECOND!"

Meowth was unaffected. "How 'bout we go 'round town with flyers, tellin' people 'bout da pageant?"

Jessie blinked and lowered the fists she had raised toward the cat. "…That…that sounds fine…"

Eagerly jumping to the carpet, Meowth began work on the flyers, while Jessie remained in bed, still trying to recover from that dream. It just seemed so real. So real.

'But no, such a horrible dream could never be a reality. Because you don't love James. So you'd never marry him. And therefore he could never leave you,' she reminded herself, and these thoughts slowly but surely lifted the weight off her shoulders. It could never be a reality. It could never be a reality. She smiled as this knowledge set in and warmed her body with comfort. Soon enough she felt ready to carry on with the day's plan.

After three hours spent handing out flyers up and down every street, Jessie dropped by the mayor's office and flirted her way into making an intercom announcement from the building, notifying all the town's residents of the contest. Meanwhile, Meowth traded a collection of fake gold jewelry for two hours of access to the biggest outdoor theater stage in the city. By seven o'clock that night, the pageant was set to begin.

From behind a turquoise curtain that separated the back stage from the front, Jessie and Meowth ogled the colossal crowd that had formed. It looked like at least eighty percent of the Cerulean City trainers had showed up for this event, and at least fifty percent of those trainers brought with them their rarest Pokemon. Among others, the Rocket partners spotted a Rapidash, a Blastoise, an Octillery, two Sandslash, three Dragonite, and a collection of more Houndoom than they had ever seen in one place before. They looked to each other with delightedly evil grins.

"This is truly going to work, Meowth! Just look at what a fine collection of Pokemon these saps have brought us!" Jessie squealed excitedly, clasping her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes glimmering with hope.

"I can't wait ta see da look on da boss's face when we finally show 'im what we capable of!" Meowth agreed.

"Ah, but first, we need to get James and Joy here," Jessie said, remembering the other—and arguably even more important—reason they were putting on this pageant. "I'll text James and you can—"

"Wait, Jessie, they's already here!" Meowth noted, gazing back at the masses of people and laying eyes on James with his arm around the waist of his pink-haired companion, who stood next to her Chansey. The Chansey was dolled up in a nurse's uniform that matched Joy's.

Jessie looked out and smirked. "Oh, this couldn't get any better! Could it be that things are actually going our way tonight, Meowth?"

"Looks like!"

"All right, now I'll go talk to James and make sure he's on board for our scathing scheme. You can start checking people in." With that, Jessie left the back stage and pushed her way through the crowd until she was standing behind James.

"The most I've ever drank in one night…" James was in the middle of saying to Joy. "…it must have been somewhere around twenty or twenty-five!"

Joy blinked. "Twenty or twenty-five…beers? Shots?"

"Hm? Oh! No, I meant bottles of soda pop!" James explained, smiling sheepishly and blushing. "I collect the caps, you see!"

Jessie rolled her eyes as she heard this insipid conversation and saw it as the perfect opportunity to steal James away. At the speed of light, she linked her arm through his and dragged him off to the side of the stage before he knew what was happening.

"Eh?! Eh?! What's going on?!" James squeaked until Jessie stopped in her tracks and turned him to face her. "Jessie?! What on earth are you doing?"

"James, I have wonderful news!"

"Is it that you've finally gone insane?!"

"No, that happened a long time ago. It's that this pageant is being hosted by none other than me and Meowth!" Jessie let go of her partner to place her hands on her hips proudly.

"What?! It is?" The man paused and bit his bottom lip. "But Joy's planning to enter it—"

Jessie glared. "Stop worrying about your precious girlfriend for one second and listen to what I'm telling you! Did you get a good look at the vast array of rare Pokemon in attendance? They're all ours to capture!"

"You expect me to be happy that you're planning on stealing Joy's Chansey?" James asked with a deep-set frown. "She loves that Pokemon!"

"Ugh! Fine, we won't steal that stupid Chansey, if that'll make you happy. But are you, or are you not, excited that the rest of them are ours to deliver to the boss?"

After a long pause, James smiled slightly. "Well…yes! That's marvelous for you and Meowth!"

"…For me and Meowth? What about for you? Don't you want the promotion that will surely come when the boss witnesses our first large-scale success?"

The man looked away, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Listen, Jessie, after our fight last night…"

"I wouldn't call it a fight exactly."

"Well, whatever it was, it made me do a lot of thinking once I got back to Joy's place."

"Thinking, huh? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Jessie scoffed. But dear God did she hope that all he did was sit there in her bedroom and think. For some reason that she couldn't identify, the idea of James having sex with Joy made her feel like she had contracted a particularly nasty flu bug.

James rolled his eyes at Jessie's implication and continued: "I really did think! And after a lot of thinking, there was a lot of talking. She and I talked. A lot. About our feelings for each other, about where we saw ourselves in the future…"

"James, you've only known her for two days! What kind of spell did that witch cast on you?!"

"She's no witch! And we both acknowledge that things have moved quickly, but you know that saying: 'when it's right, you just know'?" Suddenly James looked off to the crowd, where Joy stood, seemingly scanning through the large gathering of people to find James.

Seething, Jessie roughly turned his head back toward her. "You must realize this whole thing with Joy is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Jessie, I know it may seem crazy, but…I'm really happy with Joy. I mean, I'm really happy! And…well…"

"And well what?"

James swallowed hard. "And…as much as I cherish the time I had with you and Meowth…"

"Had?"

"…and I'll always have a spot in my heart for the mission of Team Rocket…"

"James, no…"

"…I'm planning to turn in my resignation to Giovanni tomorrow. But before I do it, I…I wanted to ask what you thought about it." James put his hands on his friend's shoulders, looking directly and deeply into her eyes. "Do you want me to stay in Team Rocket even though I'm happy with Joy?"

Jessie froze. Her vision went blurry, and she felt as if she was about to faint in his arms right then and there. But just as her body became weak, she heard Meowth's voice through a microphone on stage: "Ladies and germs, tank ya all kindly fer comin' out to dis bee-u-tiful event! We gots some real nice prizes fer our content winners, includin' but not limited ta a collection of elemental stones! So now, without furtha ado, I'd like ta officially start da first annual Cerulean City Pokemon Pageant!"

Jessie turned away from James, her eyes stinging. "I have to go. The pageant is starting, and _I_ still care about my job." Without looking back even once, she ran off. Hot tears spilled from her eyes, down her cheeks, and into the thick summer air behind her as James remained, alone, watching her leave.

TO BE CONTINUED

 _REVIEWS ARE LIKE PERFECTLY WRAPPED PRESENTS_


	12. TEST

_A/N: Hello again, my favorite readers! Thank you to ladihawk, HotdiggityDammit, SuperGirlShipper, ILIKECHICKEN, HelloKitty55443, JessieRocket, Ms. Lestrange Todd, Tuxedo Pearl, chipotlepeppers, Mystique84, Guest, Hello, CrayonMelting, and Florri for your much-appreciated reviews. And guess what? You all lucked out, because I realized that this is NOT going to be the last chapter. The next one probably will be! So please enjoy chapter 12 and please review!_

CHAPTER TWELVE: TEST

Jessie sat backstage throughout the entire pageant, her chin resting on her knees, her arms wrapped around her shins tightly. Crying due to fear was one thing. She could handle that. But crying in situations like these, where her most fragile and deepest feelings were the direct cause of every tear shed, and every tear shed felt like a new mark of weakness…

She was supposed to be a strong woman. She was a strong woman. And yet, here she was, unable to stop the flow of water down her cheeks as she thought of the impending departure of her best friend.

Why did she have to go and sleep with her best friend anyway? If she hadn't slept with him, he never would have had this ridiculous—not to mention ridiculously late—'sexual awakening', and so he never would have blinked twice at Joy. If she hadn't slept with him, he would have never thought of leaving Team Rocket, never, not even if his life depended on it. If she hadn't slept with him, everything would still be normal.

So then why had she done it? She thought back to that night, which seemed much longer ago than it really was. She thought about the way he had looked at her with a burning attraction that she couldn't ignore and couldn't let pass without action on her part. But why? Was she really so lonely? So desperate? She could have pretended not to notice, and he probably wouldn't have been brave enough to initiate anything. Just because he suddenly appeared to have wanted her didn't mean she had to seduce him and ruin everything they had.

'You're such an idiot, Jessie! Such a destructive idiot!' she thought to herself as she attempted to stifle the sound of her disgusting sobs by burying her face deeper into her legs.

Meanwhile, as Jessie drowned herself in self-deprecating thoughts and salty tears, Meowth was busy executing their scheme. He falsely assumed that Jessie was still out in the crowd, talking to James, convincing him to get onboard with the plan. So he carried on without his partners, conducting the pageant smoothly without their help, perhaps more smoothly than if they had been there to help.

He let every Pokemon strut across the stage, showing off their beauty and any special skills they possessed, to the delight and applause of the crowd. Each contestant spent a maximum of one minute on stage before Meowth escorted them to what he called 'the waiting room'; of course, the waiting room was not a room at all but was instead an enormous net tied to the currently-grounded Team Rocket balloon, which sat impatiently in the wings, more than ready for take-off.

Eventually, the net became filled to its brim with rare Pokemon, and Meowth realized that it was time to move on to the next phase of the plan. After the last contestant, an Onix three feet taller than any Meowth had ever seen before, made its way across the stage, the cat made an announcement to the crowd: "Wowza! Dere sure was a lotta purty Pokemon here tonight, wasn't dere? I'd like to thank all a ya for comin' out fer dis event! Now if ya will excuse me, me and da other judges are gonna take a closer look at all ya Pokemon in da waitin' room before announcin' da lucky winner and runners-up! Sit tight!"

The trainers in the audience smiled contently and began conversing with each other about the pageant before sharing training and breeding tips, entirely unsuspecting that anything was fishy about the contest. Meowth snickered. Sometimes he couldn't believe just how stupid humans were.

Quickly, the cat scurried backstage, searching for Jessie and James, whom he assumed must have arrived by now at least. Everything was coming together so splendidly! This was the luckiest they had ever been, Meowth thought to himself. Better yet, he hadn't seen those pesky twerps in the audience all night, so there was a magnificent chance that they could actually pull off the plan this time without being foiled.

However, when he reached the back stage, he encountered Jessie's back turned to him as she crouched on the floor, and his heart instantly dropped.

"J-Jess? What's goin' on? Where's Jimmy?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

Jessie didn't startle at the sound of Meowth's voice. She didn't even bother to pretend to be anything other than a sobbing mess. She no longer had the fighting spirit in her to do so. She was tired of pretending not to care. She felt weak and empty and broken.

As she spoke, her voice was low. Lifeless. Defeated. "James is leaving Team Rocket, Meowth. He's going to turn in his resignation to Giovanni tomorrow."

"Wh-what?!" Meowth's claws instinctively peeked out from his paws. "But I thought you was gonna convince 'im to stay!"

"I can't. I won't."

"What does ya mean?! Of course ya can! You're Jessie! You can force 'im to stay if ya want to! He'll do whatever ya says!"

Jessie shook her head softly. "I know that. Believe me, I know that. He even told me that if I wanted him to stay in Team Rocket, that he would reconsider."

"Well, den what are ya waitin' for?!" Meowth screeched. "Tell 'im you want him to stay!"

"No. I won't do that, Meowth."

Meowth's claws protruded fully, and he trembled with an infuriation he had never felt toward Jessie until now. "Why da hell not?! Do ya want our team to be dissolved?! I thought ya cared about us! I thought…I thought ya were my real friends!"

Finally, Jessie's crestfallen tone of voice changed to match Meowth's tone of anger. "Of course I don't want the team to dissolve and we are your real friends! But this isn't about you, Meowth! And it isn't even about me! This is about James! He's happy! He's really happy! I don't know why, and I think that he's moving far too quickly with Joy, but that doesn't change the facts! He told me himself that he's really happy with her and…" Suddenly she became silent and looked to the floor.

"And what, Jessie?" Meowth asked.

"And…Joy may be ugly on the outside, but…from what I've seen so far and from what James says…she seems to be beautiful on the inside. I'm the opposite. James should certainly thank his lucky stars that he was able to fuck a woman as absolutely gorgeous as me, but…I'm not girlfriend material. Definitely not wife material." A lump clogged Jessie's throat and with a crushing revelation, she swallowed it. "I'm too selfish and mean. It's how I've always been. James is a sensitive man, and he needs someone that will be kind and gentle with him, and he's found her. And he's happy. So no, Meowth, I will not ask him to stay in Team Rocket. As much as I want him to, as much as I want things to be like they always were, I won't do it!"

Before Meowth could respond, the two were interrupted by a dark, familiar chuckle coming from the shadows.

"Huh?" Meowth and Jessie gasped in unison, whipping their heads around to see James emerge from behind the curtain.

The lavender-haired man was smirking like a pompous villain. "So you do love me, Jessie. I knew it. I knew it all along."

Jessie rose to her feet and stared at James with a dumbstruck expression. "W-what? No, I don't! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

"You could tell me a million times, and I will never believe you ever again. Because you do love me, Jessie. You just proved it!"

Clenching her fists at her side, Jessie growled. "Are you trying to tell me that you know better than I do how I really feel?! How insulting! How presumptuous!"

James paused for a moment and tapped his chin as if deep in thought. "Well, Jessie, let me ask you something: how do you define 'love'?"

Jessie froze, not at all expecting such a question. She had never given it much thought. The definition of 'love'. What was it? Her mind scrambled to come up with an answer. "Well…I…I don't know exactly! I guess…I…well, I guess it's…it's when you care about someone a lot, and you want what's best for them…and…you value their happiness above your own…" As soon the last sentence stumbled out of her mouth, she realized that she had walked right into James's trap, and she blushed darkly, furiously. "B-but…!"

"But nothing," James replied, still grinning. "That's how I define 'love' too! Caring about someone else more than yourself: that's love." Jessie turned away with a deep-set frown. She was at a loss for words. So James offered some more of his own instead: "You do love me, Jessie. You say you're selfish and mean; well, aren't we all? But still, you would rather lose me as a partner and suffer sadness over that loss than see me unhappy. That doesn't sound all that selfish or mean to me."

Meowth smiled at James, agreeing wholeheartedly with the man's words and hoping that Jessie would see the truth shining through them. But Jessie continued staring off to the side, her heart pounding, her face hot with both embarrassment and rage. Finally, she yelled, "Well, fine, then! Maybe I do love you! Happy now?! You have two women that love you! Congratulations! Now go ride off into the sunset with that ugly nurse! I've given you my blessing, so go!"

James shook his finger. "Not so fast. Say it again, Jessie."

"Say what again?"

"Say you love me. Go on. Say it again."

Tears filled Jessie's eyes again, even though she had been certain she had cried her eyes dry and had nothing left to expel. "So you're leaving Team Rocket and running off with a woman you barely know and yet you want me to tell you I love you again? That's just cruel, James! Even I wouldn't do something like that if the situation was reversed!"

James suddenly took three long strides forward, closing the gap between himself and Jessie. He then wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her chest against his. "Say it again."

Jessie blinked, looking up into James's eyes with surprise. For some reason, she found that she couldn't disobey him this time. "I…I love you, James."

"I love you too, Jessie."

"But—"

Before she could utter another word, James silenced her lips with his own, closing his eyes tightly. Meowth closed his own just as tight. Sure, he wanted this to happen, but he didn't want to have to see it. Jessie's eyes remained open in shock, however; although it didn't take long before she found herself tangling her tongue with James's and tangling her fingers in his hair.

After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Meowth peeked one eye open. "Is it over yet?!"

Brought back to reality by Meowth's voice, Jessie abruptly broke the kiss and backed away from James's embrace. "But James…what about Joy? Not less than an hour ago, you told me how happy you were with her! I don't understand!"

James smirked wider than ever. "My entire relationship with Joy was fake, Jessie."

"….What?!"

"Well, perhaps not my entire relationship, but let's say ninety percent of it was!" Jessie backed further away from James, feeling like she wasn't even sure who he was anymore. But her friend carried on merrily: "When we first met, I really did like her and was genuine about wanting to go on a date with her, but when we were at dinner…"

James thought back to that night. He remembered how, even while in the midst of perfectly lovely conversation with Joy, his thoughts continued to involuntarily drift to Jessie. He remembered how benevolent Joy seemed. He remembered how guilty he had felt lying to her.

And he remembered the moment that he told her he couldn't continue doing so.

"You may hate me for what I'm about to tell you, and you have every right to, but I hope you will at least hear me out…" he had told Joy, and—being the sweet person she was—she maintained an open mind as she replied: "Go ahead. I'm listening."

"Joy…I know we just met, and I know you probably don't even like me all that much yet, so hopefully this won't be too disappointing for you, but you're too kind of a person for me to lead you on at all, even a little bit!"

Joy bit her bottom lip. "Lead me on?"

"Well, it's just…" James dramatically covered his face with his hands. "I'm in love with someone else already!"

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry! I really did enjoy talking with you at the coffee shop this morning, and you're very beautiful, but this other woman…I just love her so much, Joy!" He then uncovered his face and looked back into his date's eyes, and Joy saw something in them now that she hadn't seen at any other point that night. And she understood. Still, James felt compelled to explain more: "I don't know why exactly. She's not as nice as you are, I can tell that much already! But I've been friends with her for half a decade now, and I'm just so attached…I can't imagine my life without her…it's like we're sewn together somehow and to tear apart even a thread between us would cause us both a great deal of pain. And last night, we had sex for the first time, so now I understand that my affection for her is far more than that of friendship."

Joy blushed, and James realized that he had provided perhaps a bit too much information. "Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have added that last part! But um…ah, well, I suppose what I'm trying to say is…"

Joy stopped him, smiling gently as she reached across the table to put her hand over his. "It's okay, James. I understand. It's fine. Really, it is."

"It is?"

"Well, I won't say I'm not disappointed," she admitted, blushing harder. "I've always had a soft spot for men like you, and I was excited by the possibility of dating you, but I'm glad you told me your real feelings now instead of forcing yourself into something that you already knew wasn't going to be right for you."

"Men like me?" James ignored the rest of her small speech, fixated on that particular phrase.

"Soft, sensitive, feminine men like you." Seeing James frown, Joy quickly added: "I hope you don't take that the wrong way! I've just always had an affinity for those types of guys; I think perhaps it's because I love to take care of both fragile Pokemon and fragile men!"

James's frown hardened. "So is that how I come across? Feminine…fragile?" Jessie's words from her not-so-secret conversation with Meowth in the tent came back to haunt him yet again.

"Not in a bad way!" Joy waved her hands in front of her face in a panic. "Oh…I'm sorry, I probably said something wrong. I didn't mean it like that, James. I see those traits as a good thing!"

"No, no, it's fine, Joy," James sighed. "I know you didn't mean to offend. It's just that…well, this woman I'm in love with…I'm afraid that the reason we're not currently together is because I'm not man enough for her to fall in love with. She said that she needs a man that can dominate her both physically and mentally. I tried to dominate her physically when we made love, and I…sort of succeeded. But that clearly wasn't enough because she says she doesn't love me and never could!"

The nurse furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, James, do you think she loves you?"

"That's the worst part! I think she does love me, but she stubbornly insists that she doesn't, and so I'm truly at a loss." As the waiter finally brought the two their food, neither James nor Joy touched their plates, both becoming lost in thought. Then, as if struck by lightning, James sprung out of his seat. "Wait, Joy….I just thought of the most brilliant idea!"

"Y-you did?" Joy stammered, noticing how many people at tables around them had turned to stare at the strange scene-making man.

"Yes! Did you mean it when you told me that helping both Pokemon and people was something you truly loved to do?"

"Hm? Of course I meant it! Helping others is what I enjoy most in life!" Joy assured.

Now noticing the annoyed gazes from the other diners, James chuckled sheepishly and sat down, but unadulterated excitement still danced in his eyes. "Well, then how would you feel about pretending to be my girlfriend for a couple days?"

"What?"

"I know Jessie. I know her well! She's a competitive person. She's the type that needs to be made jealous. She's the kind that needs to potentially lose me before she can realize how much I mean to her. And she's also someone that will never admit her feelings unless she is cornered into it!"

Joy blinked. Even though she had only known him for a day, she was taken aback by this new side of him she was suddenly seeing. He seemed manipulative and cunning, and there was a bit of darkness to the way he was speaking. As a woman, she liked it, but as a good woman, she was unsure if she wanted to be part of such a scheme. "Are you sure that manipulating her into admitting she loves you is the best way to go, James?"

"Well, that may not be the best path to take with just anyone, but with Jessie, it is. If she wants me to dominate her mind, then mind games are what I'll play!"

Lingering uncertainty plagued Joy's mind, but she did want to help James. Maybe this woman he loved was just crazy enough to enjoy such Machiavellian machinations. Thus, they began plan. James did all the scheming, and Joy promised to go along with whatever he said: she'd hold his hand when he wanted her to, she'd be seen with him wherever he wanted her to, she'd be the perfect fake girlfriend. And she was.

As James explained this to Jessie, the woman's mouth hung open, her eyes as wide as saucers. "You…you…"

"Yes. This was all a test. If you had asked me to stay in Team Rocket despite thinking I was happy with Joy, then I would have known you didn't really care about my happiness and therefore didn't really love me."

"S-so you tricked me?! You lied to me?! You made me cry for no reason and manipulated me into telling you I loved you?!" Jessie was outraged. Bordering on murderous.

But James stood perfectly still, the smirk still intact on his face. "Yes. But it worked, didn't it?"

Jessie stiffened. "Well, yes, but…that doesn't make it right!"

"What can I say? Joy didn't turn me into an angel. You were correct all along: I am a bad guy. That's who I am, and that's who you are too. And that's why I could never pursue a relationship with someone like Joy." James approached his partner again and rested his hands on her hips, squeezing them firmly. "I don't care if you're usually mean and selfish and arrogant. I love you for who you are, Jessie. I don't want a perfect woman. I just want _you_!"

"James…" Jessie laced her arms around James's neck but looked away again. "You say that now, but I'm not sure if you know what it'd really be like to be with me long-term. What if you get tired of being with a bitch? What if I lose my looks? Don't you understand that I've already lost everyone I've ever loved Every boy I've ever been involved with has abandoned me eventually, not to mention my mother…"

The man titled his head. "I thought your mother died!"

"Well, yes, you idiot, she died! But she wouldn't have died if she hadn't gone on that Team Rocket mission. If she hadn't left me."

"Jessie…"

"James, please." Unlinking her arms from James's neck just as quickly as she had put them there, she stepped away from his grasp. "I'd rather not love at all than risk losing the person I love. I don't think I could heal if you ever left me. And I hope you know how hard it is for someone like me to admit to something like that, and that I hate you for making me do it!"

James quickly countered: "But you were willing to let me leave if I was happy with Joy!"

"Well, yes, but that's because I want you to be happy!"

"If you want me to be happy, then be with me! I'll be happy with _you_ , Jessie!"

As if waiting for the worst moment to pipe up again, Meowth suddenly spoke: "Uh, guys…as much as I'd like ta see dis get ironed out, I tink ya both need to see dis."

"Huh?" James and Jessie asked, glancing over at the cat that they had forgotten was even there. They noticed that he was looking out at the crowd from behind the curtain, and that the voices of the trainers outside were growing louder and more impatient.

"How much longer is this going to take?" one man yelled.

A woman followed: "I miss my Dratini already! You think it's okay, right?"

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" another voice asked, and it was a dreadfully familiar one. The twerp!

The Team Rocket trio searched the mass of people, and each of their stomachs plummeted as they spied Ash, Misty, and Brock standing amongst the other trainers as they waited.

The Dratini trainer continued: "That Meowth seemed so nice and friendly, but I'm getting worried now. He said that he would be announcing the winners of the pageant soon, but that was fifteen minutes ago, and oh…I'm probably just being overly-worried!"

Misty frowned. "A Meowth said that he'd be announcing the winners?"

Brock chimed in: "Was this by any chance a Meowth that spoke human language?"

Squeaking, Meowth closed the curtain in distress and turned to his partners. "They's onto us! We gotta go!"

James and Jessie stared at each other for a moment, both hating how unresolved everything between them was. However, they knew they had no choice. All three thieves darted off behind the theater, where the balloon and all of the captured Pokemon waited. They piled into the balloon as fast as their feet could carry them, but just as they began to ascend into the air, the entire crowd of people—including the twerps—appeared like apparitions beneath them.

Ash, with fire in his eyes, glared up at them. "Stop right there! You're not gonna get away with this, Team Rocket!"

TO BE CONTINUED

REVIEWS ARE LIKE POKESTOPS WITH LURES ON THEM


	13. BREAKDOWN

_AN: Hello again, everyone! Terribly sorry for the months-long delay in posting this. After writing chapter 12, I started my fall semester at college, and it was an extremely busy one. Now that the semester's over, and because I'm still getting reviews on this story, I thought I should finally complete it! However...this isn't the last chapter, haha. The next one will be. (I know, I've said that before, but trust me this time.)_

 _Please enjoy chapter 13!_

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BREAKDOWN

And so Team Rocket fought. And so Team Rocket lost.

The battle between the three villains and the three twerps had been nothing unique. Ash used Bulbasaur to cut through the balloon's net using its razor-leaf attack, which released all the captured Pokemon inside. Said Pokemon returned to their owners' joyous arms, at which point Ash instructed his reluctant-but-eventually-obedient Charizard to blast the balloon (and the antagonists) away with a mere fiery breath.

Neither Jessie nor James had tried to use any of their Pokemon against Ash's; they were both far too preoccupied by their recent confessions of love to get into battle-mode quickly enough. Not that it would have made a difference anyway, and they both knew it.

And thus, after coming extremely close to pulling off a large-scale scheme successfully, they were blasted away into an expanse of cool, black, star-speckled summer sky. And because bad luck loved them so dearly, Meowth deflated the balloon with an accidental prick of his claws while getting blasted off. Soon enough, the sagging balloon slowly but surely cascaded into the middle of the ocean on the border of Cerulean City.

"Well, this is just _perfect_!" Jessie groaned as she stood up in the balloon's basket, glaring at the airless Meowth face that floated pathetically in the water. "Not only did we lose to those pathetic kids yet again, but look at where we are!"

James and Meowth, only now sturdying themselves in the basket, panted heavily as they glanced out to the seemingly infinite miles of ocean surrounding them on all sides. Meowth covered his eyes with his paws, and James's bottom lip begin to wobble as he held back sobs.

Jessie continued: "Perfect. Perfect! How on earth are we going to survive out here when our balloon is beyond repair and this basket is our only boat?! We have no food...it's freezing cold...and Cerulean waters are notoriously filled with territorial Gyarados!"

James turned toward her, a sweatdrop sliding down the side of his head. He had no ideas. He knew that a man was supposed to have at least one brilliant idea up his sleeve at all times, especially when it came to saving his damsel in distress, but his brain was empty. "Well…we could…um…"

"Don't bother, James. It was a rhetorical question," Jessie sighed as she slinked down against the padded floor, her arms folded over her knees. "There's no getting out of this. We're doomed."

"That's a bit pessimistic, don't you think?!" James offered. "We've gotten out of plenty of similar situations before! This is far from the first time we've been blasted into unsafe territory!"

Meowth finally uncovered his eyes and looked out at the ocean, his heart heavy. "Dat's true, but I gotta admit, dis one is pretty bad. We've neva been in da ocean without da submarine before."

"Well…" James started, desperate to avoid joining his friends in their immediate decision to give up. "Well, perhaps…we could swim for shore!"

"Can you even _see_ the shore from here?!" Jessie asked.

The man swallowed a lump in his throat, gazing out at the sea, unable to see anything in the distance except for sea and more sea and more sea. "No, but…you know, some people have been lost at sea for months and survived!"

"Not in Gyarados-infested waters, dey didn't," Meowth quipped. "All we needs is one 'a 'dem to see we're in dere way and de'll tear dis basket apart like it was nuttin'."

After a few moments of silence, James realized he couldn't add anything else to the conversation that would be in any way beneficial.

When Jessie realized this, she filled the quietude with more words of her own, but this time, her voice was soft, almost tender. "James…come sit by me."

James turned back to her with surprise. "W-what?"

"I said 'come sit by me!' Now do it!" Jessie shouted, her voice changing once again, and her face now visibly red even in the dark of the night. James blushed as well as he obeyed Jessie, sitting down next to her. A moment later, Jessie hesitantly rested her head on James's chest. Both of their blushes intensified.

Meowth, watching, rolled his eyes and gagged, taking a spot at the corner of the basket that was furthest from the two. "Ya know what, I'm gonna try to sleep through dis mess. If either of ya actually comes up wit an idea 'a how to get outta it, wake me up. If ya just end up doin' da nasty again, for da love of God, let me sleep."

James huffed. "It's not 'nasty'! It's a beautiful expression of love!"

"Don't say that, James! It's embarrassing!" Jessie said, whacking him over the head with her fist.

"Ow! That hurt, Jessie!"

Meowth, meanwhile, turned away from the two and closed his eyes. But he couldn't help but smile as he did. He hoped that, even if they were really doomed, at least those two would resolve something tonight. He didn't want them all to die on such an infuriatingly open-ended note.

As the cat fell asleep, James looked to Jessie and instantly took notice of her expression. He had never, not in all their years of being friends, seen her look so irrevocably sad. "Jessie?"

"What?"

"You look so sad!"

"Well, duh! Why shouldn't I? We're probably going to die tonight! Or tomorrow, if we get really lucky, and you know we're not the luckiest people in the world. And just after we finally…" At this point, Jessie caught herself and bit her tongue. Talking about this was hard for her. She still could hardly believe that James had somehow managed to make her not only realize but also vocalize the fact that she loved him.

But James didn't need her to complete the sentence. "I know. It's…not exactly the ideal time for us to die."

"You think?" Jessie scoffed.

"But on the other hand," he continued, resting his chin in his hand thoughtfully. "If we do die tonight, at least I won't die a virgin!"

" _That's_ what you're happy about?!"

James laughed. "Well, I _am_ man after all!"

Jessie still didn't crack a smile. Instead, her face became more serious than ever. "James…how can you be joking around at a time like this? Don't you care that we never…"

"Never what?"

The woman hesitated and shifted in her spot. "Look, I know I said that I didn't want to be your girlfriend, but…now that I think about it…it'll be rather unfortunate if I die without even knowing what it was like." She glanced up at her companion with one eye. "What do you think you would have been like as my boyfriend anyway?"

Looking back at her, James offered a small smile. "Probably excessively doting. Always wanting to buy you things and open doors for you and make sure you're happy. I'd buy you roses even when there was no occasion for it, and even if you got annoyed with me for being a sappy romantic. We'd fight more often than most couples, surely, but I wouldn't mind it, and I'd usually let you win. And I'd be hopelessly loyal. Even if you treated me like a doormat, I wouldn't go looking for anyone else."

As she listened to James's words, she found herself-against her natural resistance-starting to believe them. "Hmm…James?"

"Yes, Jessie?"

"Do you think then, just for tonight, we could try being a couple?" she asked.

James's eyes widened. "Really?"

"I know we can't do most of the things couples do. We have no food and even if we did, we couldn't have a candlelit dinner together. And it's not like we can go on a date anywhere," she began, her heart suddenly pounding against her ribcage. "But I suppose that, if I die, I'd like to…die as your girlfriend."

James's heart started racing just as fast, and he couldn't hold back the high-pitched squeal that flew out of his mouth. "J-Jessie! Are you actually being...romantic?! Is there a lovey-dovey schoolgirl inside you after all?!"

The woman growled, her face overheating once again. "No! And if you're going to act like that, then forget it!"

James broke into a series of chuckles and turned his body toward Jessie's, moving his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. "You know, you're right that we can't do most of the things couples do, but…there is _one_ thing we can!"

"James…" Suddenly her voice was cut off when her new boyfriend pressed his lips against hers. She instinctively closed her eyes and linked her hands together around his neck as she kissed him back, opening her mouth slightly to welcome his tongue inside it, tangling it with hers slowly and passionately. Before she knew it, James's left hand moved down from her waist to her thigh. His fingertips danced along her thigh inner thigh teasingly and she kissed him harder in desperation. Even as he kissed her, she could feel that he was smirking. It annoyed her and turned her on at the same time.

"James…" she whispered as she pulled back from his lips. He continued caressing her leg too gently and clearly on purpose. "Touch me."

"I _am_ touching you, Jessie," he replied, playing dumb.

She rolled her eyes. "Touch my pussy, you idiot."

"No," he said, the smirk widening.

"Why not?!"

"Because."

Jessie groaned and arched his against his fingers before deciding that she'd just have to be a bit manipulative herself. She then smiled seductively and whispered directly into his ear. "Come on. Don't you want to feel how warm and wet I already am for you?"

James blushed lightly. He couldn't deny that he did want to feel that. But he also wanted to continue Jessie driving crazy by teasing her, and he didn't like how demanding she was acting. "Hmm…"

When he didn't answer immediately, Jessie reached down and grabbed his hand, moving it from her thigh to inside her panties and sliding two fingers inside her tight hole. As she moaned happily, James frowned and pulled his fingers out of her as fast as he could. "Jessie! Don't ever do that again! I'm the one in control here! So you don't get to decide what I do to you or when!"

Jessie's eyes flashed open in a shock bordering on fear, not expecting such a reaction from James, and she caught a glimpse of his angry expression in the dark before he stood up altogether. "James…what are you doing?"

Quietly, he reached outside of the basket and tore off a small thread of the rope connecting the balloon to the basket. "Get undressed and lie down on your back, Jessie.

Jessie blinked in surprise as she saw the rope but she couldn't deny that her already wet pussy had gotten wetter within a second of seeing it. James was certainly acting manlier than he ever had before, and she loved it. Nodding submissively, she removed every piece of clothing from her body and lay on her back, looking up at James with a mix of uncertainty and anticipation. James then leaned over and pulled her arms above her head, tying her wrists together tightly.

"Just to make sure you don't make another mistake like you just made," he told her, and she found herself nodding eagerly once again. He then removed his own clothes and threw them atop hers before positioning his face between her legs. She glanced down hopefully, but he just left a trail of feathery kisses up the other thigh.

She groaned again in frustration. "James, come on!"

He waved a finger reprimandingly and kissed back down to her knee. "That's not what you say if you want me to stop teasing you, you know. What's the magic word, Jessie?"

She couldn't believe her ears. The magic word?! This was humiliating. And yet she was still loving it. "…Please, James?"

"Please what, Jessie?

'Damn you,' she thought. But she _said_ : "Please finger me or lick me or something. I don't even care! Just please do _something_ to my pussy!"

James breathed hot air over her opening and looked up casually. "Why should I?"

"Because I need it!"

"How bad do you need it?

"I need it so badly, James! Just…ugh! Please!" She kicked her legs like a small child having a temper tantrum. The man held her legs down as soon as she began kicking them and finally slid his tongue inside her hole, immediately tasting the surprisingly ample wetness that she promised had already surfaced.

Letting out a moan, Jessie stopped kicking her legs completely and settled in to the relief that washed over her body as James began moving his tongue deeper inside her. "Thank you…" she whispered with a tone of helpless gratitude that made James's heart race faster. He looked up at her and watched her pleasured expressions as he swirled his tongue slowly and indulgently inside her before thrusting it in and out the way he hoped to soon do with his hardening cock.

He willed himself to keep at it for a good five minutes before he began growing impatient, and though he said nothing to indicate it, Jessie must have been able to tell somehow. Because it was at this exact moment that she opened her eyes and suggested: "James…if you want to get me off fast...rub my clit." And then just to make sure he did it: "Please."

'Oh, yeah! The clit!' James thought, having somehow forgotten about this important body part while he was eating his girlfriend out. He took her recommendation instantly, rubbing her clit hard and fast with his thumb, in perfect rhythm with the movements of his tongue. He soon realized that this was the magic key. Within thirty seconds, Jessie's body began to shake in a way that seemed far beyond her control, and-to keep from moaning too loudly and waking Meowth-she had to bite her lip so hard that it bled.

In all honesty, James was a bit scared at this point. Only because he had never seen a girl orgasm, much less been the one to make it happen. It almost looked like she was having an exorcism of some kind. But he pushed past the fear and saw it through: drinking her juices and rubbing her sensitive clit until her body finally stopped trembling and became limp again.

"Ah…James…" she breathed heavily. "You…you did it!"

He then slowly slid his tongue out of her and stopped rubbing her, moving to climbed atop her body, smiling down at her. "I really did, didn't I?!

He sounded as excited as a little boy on Christmas morning, and Jessie couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you really did. And God, I needed that."

"I'm glad," he said, leaning down to lick the small amount of blood from her bottom lip. "But I need something too."

"I know, I know," she whispered. "Go ahead. You can fuck me now."

"What's that?"

She rolled her eyes and rephrased: " _Please_ fuck me now, Master."

"That's better," he said, moving his hands up her stomach to her breasts and pinching her nipples roughly as he slipped his cock all the way inside her dripping pussy.

She gasped. "Ah!"

"Jessie…" he breathed, thrusting in her slowly at first, surprised by the fact that this second time felt just as-if not more-amazing than the first. He suddenly wondered if sex was something that just kept getting better and better the more one did it, and he certainly hoped so. Though, there was a definite possibility that they'd both die tonight, and wouldn't get a chance to do it again. But he managed to shake this thought from his head for the time being. Because just like the first time, she felt so tight and warm inside, and he only wanted to feel helplessly euphoric as he continued slamming his cock in and out of her, now faster and harder as he released her nipples and massaged the rest of her tits possessively.

"Ah, James…please fuck me harder…and deeper," Jessie cried, and as James obeyed, she felt actual tears well up in her eyes. It dawned on her then that this really may be the last time they came together like this, and she felt like she couldn't get enough of him. "Harder and deeper! Please!"

But he was already fucking her as hard and deep as was physically possible. And she knew it, but she also felt like nothing could be enough. She craved more and more. She craved things that she now believed she would never have: not just more of James's cock (though she did want that) but more of James, period. More of a relationship with him. More of a life with him.

"So much so that, when James came hard inside her minutes later, the first thing that left her lips was: "James, I don't want to die!"

Immediately dizzy and exhausted from his orgasm, James collapsed on top of Jessie as he processed her words. "I…I don't want to die either."

The two lay there like that for a while, both trying and failing to catch their breath. As his heart continued drumming against his chest, he reached up and untied Jessie's wrists, and as soon as her hands were free, she dug her fingers into James's back desperately, as if he going to leave. Then she just suddenly burst into tears. And James, despite his recent show of masculinity and dominance, couldn't help but start crying either. He didn't want to. He wanted to continue acting manly; he wanted to comfort her and be her strong, stoic shoulder to cry on.

But that wasn't the real him. Or, at least, it wasn't the _full_ him.

Instead, he found that as soon as she started sobbing, he couldn't hold back his sensitive feelings any longer. "Jessie…I'm scared…"

Rather than tell him to stop whining, Jessie merely cradled his head against her breasts and continued sobbing herself. "So am I…I don't want to die…I don't want to die…"

"I feel like our lives have just truly begun!" James added, looking up at her through tear-clouded eyes. "I want to be with you, Jessie! I want us to continue our lives as a couple! I want us to go on trying to capture Pikachu…and I want us to do it as the couple we were meant to be! I want to take you on dates and…and…I want to make love to you more times than we could ever hope to count! And…someday I'd like to retire from crime and settle down with you and get married and have children and…I just…"

"I want those things too, James. All of them," she finally admitted, to herself and to him. "I'm sorry I was so stupid before. When I said you weren't man enough for me. When I said I didn't want to date you. When I told you I couldn't be with you because I couldn't bear losing you. I'm sorry for all of it! I was just scared. But now I'm really scared. I'm more scared than I've ever been, and all those things I said before just seem so…so…"

"James?!" a voice called.

Jessie blinked. "Well, I was going to say 'stupid', but I guess 'James' means the same thing."

Ignoring this slight, James hurriedly peaked his head above the basket to locate the voice calling out to him. In the distance was a small sailboat, coming nearer. But even in the dark, James could easily make out the pink-haired woman on it, calling out for him.

"Joy?!"

 _REVIEWS ARE BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE_


End file.
